In last nights game the Charnley try/no try. Dwyer stole the ball in a three man tackle over the try line. Had the try not been given what would the decision have been regarding restarting the game?

Not Grimmy obviously but I was under the impression you could steal the ball if it was in the act of preventing a try.

I’m sure this was a rule but with so many of these minor rules it may have changed.

If though it is still the case it’s play on with Dwyer then getting bundled into touch so if all the above is accurate, which I’m not certain it is restart would have been play the ball to Wire .

What a shocker of a decision that was. They found an angle that proved it wasn’t a try, viewed it in full speed once and moved back to the angles that proved absolutely nothing. No excuses for whoever got that wrong. People mentioned the fact the ref sent it up as a try had prejudiced the decision because they need to find concrete proof it wasn’t a try. They found it and ignored it.

And people wonder why so many of us are dubious about our officials.

Are they bent, plain incompetent, or both?

There are so many decisions like this in so many games that you want to rip your hair out.

Especially in an age when they have loads of technical assistance.

To be honest, letters of apology to the clubs concerned is just not punishment enough. Hicks has made two crucial high-profile errors in the last two games. He either needs to be retrained or to find another job.

Spot on, but don't expect much support from the wider RL fan base. As long as if doesn't happen to them, it's all 'part of the game'. You still get the idiots saying that a team makes more errors than the ref - that's not really hard is it. 34 players will obviously make more mistakes than one. It's just that one has the ability to really f-up a match.

Hicks and the rest of the refs are a cancer in the game, one more subtle than the concussion issue but no less dangerous to the future of the sport.

I seriously don't know what your problem is. Does someone call you a cancer if your work colleague gets something wrong? The offer still stands that I will gladly pay for your course and kit so you can show us all how games should be officiated. Alternatively you can sit behind your keyboard and continue to slate the people who have the courage to take all the weekly abuse so that we can all enjoy what is (IMO) the greatest game in the world.

For me the on field call of try or no try is promoting too many reasons for the video ref to not overrule the decision.

Hicks last night took the call from the touch judge.

You can here him say it when the Leeds players complained about it being sent up as a try.

If the refs can’t see what has gone on, which is sometimes the case due to bodies around the ball particularly in tries from close range I would like the third option of the refs being able to send it up asking quite simply “is there any reason not to award the try?”

We don’t want to slow the game down too much however calls like that where the ref is clearly unsighted he need to be able to ask for more help to get what could turn out to be a crucial call right.

My problem are the refs and support/protection that they get. They don't change, they don't apologise and after that they have a terrible arrogant attitude. Something you won't acknowledge is there. Again, and you'll ignore this, why did Gale have to tell Child's that he's not too important to talk too?

We've already been through this too - it's not courage at all, it's stupidity/arrogance to think they can do it. I don't want to be a ref, simply because I have no place being one. I'm not an ex-pro and have no business telling people levels above me what they are doing wrong. Penalising people for retaliation when they get punched in the face, knowing full well I couldn't exercise that level of self control. It's hypocrisy.

There's a difference between getting something wrong and constantly getting stuff wrong & whilst they wouldn't call me a cancer, I'd be sacked if I was as bad as Hicks. If I dropped such a public bo11ock as he did in the CC final, refused to take responsibility and then kept making the same mistake - I'd be looking for a new job. Not sure why that's so hard to understand?

I've not seen the Gale/Child incident so can't comment. Can you not see that it's a bit hurtful calling a whole group of people (99.999% of which weren't involved in that decision) a cancer? Match officials get into it because they are passionate about rugby league, none of them want to spoil the game.

Protection - Bullock is clearly dropped by Lam and none of us really know why because we don't need to. Lam isn't going to go to the papers and say he has done X Y and Z. The RFL deal with things in a similar manner, officials are dropped and promoted every week based on performance following in depth video review of every call from every level of the pro and semi pro game.

I don't know where you think all these ex-pros are who you think are willing/able to referee top level rugby games. A well respected ex-Wigan player who is still involved with the club did meet with the RFL about becoming match official about three years ago. He found out the (lack of) money involved compared with the work required and quickly declined. Another couldn't pass the fitness test and jacked in after a few kids games. Maybe we should just play without officials and let the players sort it out until all these ex-pros who are happy to take all this abuse for peanuts make themselves known. That's besides the obvious point that a 34 year old who has spent 20 years playing rugby might not be as good an official as a 34 year old who has spent 20 years officiating rugby. I do think we need to try to attract ex-pros FWIW, but you're dreaming if you think many will want to do it unless we miraculously find a lot of money to pay them.

It must be looking at last night. People weren’t happy with the Charnley/Marshall incident but even if they’d gone upstairs they’d have given it. That last night was just terrible. I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. They say they need concrete proof to overturn the on field decision, well they had that and ignored it. It’s as though he actually missed the fact you could see the ball was up on the one angle that showed it and just moved past it. I froze that replay a couple of times and it is absolutely cast iron that Charnley didn’t get the ball down. The on field guys can get things wrong in the heat of the moment but the VR shouldn’t be.

I’m a wire fan and I have to agree no way was that a try last night. The commentary team knew the pundits at the end knew it the fans knew it and I’m going to sat the video ref knew it. The problem is this the sending up of try no try is ruining it, if a decision needs to be sent up it should just be the video refs call alone.

But you all just stick up for each other. One of my best mates is actually a ref and the arguments as get into are unreal because he takes the same 'whataboutism' approach.

Do you not think it's unfair (& apply this to every level of the game) that refs up and down the country and across sports are ruining games? If I have a bad game at the weekend, I have to sit in the changing room with my mates and look them in the eye, knowing I've let then down. That never happens with a ref, in all my years of playing, I've never had a ref walk into the sheds and say sorry or that they f-up. It's sickening, especially in the big games. Finals lost etc because a ref has dropped a clanger, but won't say sorry.

Make the club's pay into a pot that has to be spent on funding ex pros to become refs. I shudder to think what our club paid for the work on that cr@ppy badge etc. Improving the standard of refs should be the number 1 priority, because it's the biggest issue. Once again tho it's the old "we're broke" line. Same excuse for letting Covid make a mockery of the season. Same excuse for a low SC limit etc. Yet there's fat cat directors at the RFL doing a bad job and getting paid for it.

If you honestly think refs up and down the country across sports are ruining games then I'd suggest it's down to one of two things:

1. You don't understand certain decisions/agree with the rules the clubs voted for and just assume the ref is incompetent (I've seen instances of this from you on here, even when faced with meticulous explanation).
Or 2. The standards you expect have proven to be unachievable by humans doing their best in however many years you have been watching/playing the sport.

The level of scrutiny in the pro and semi pro game is unbelievable. The match officials spend a hell of a lot more time reviewing each match than the clubs involved do. A match official will be dropped for one bad decision in one game, unlike a player who will generally have to be poor for a sustained period and even then may keep his spot. If you think the officials don't care then you're miles off the mark there too. Maybe at amateur level where there is little scrutiny and there are some bad apples, but not at pro or semi pro level. Everyone at that level is going out to do their best and feels bad if they drop a clanger.

Does your best mate know you think he is a cancer to the game?

As soon as I hear anyone talking abut 'bent' refs, i stop taking them seriously. Anyone who thinks refs are bent, or biased against Wigan (or any other team) need to give their head a wobble.