I do feel for you, because we can debate all day about the way the rules are going and on that I’m 100% in agreement with you that the game is becoming lame and that having multiple cards per game is properly killing the game as an entertainment spectacle and it’s always deflating when a card just changes the momentum of a game and it seems like it’s happening in at least one game every single week so on the wider discussion, I’m with you.

However, they ARE the rules and the ref applied them correctly so to say he was horrendous is just false. I thought he had a decent game overall. He missed a few things of course but I’ve never seen a ref have a perfect game in my life

He was leading with the elbow and attacked the head. I understand the point about mitigation hitting the chest first and on that basis I have no issue with it not being a red, but I thought it was because leading with the elbow has always been illegal on its own even if you take out the head contact.

That said I always hate people crying for red cards, idk why people are so eager to have their opponents at a disadvantage but you see it every week. People are seriously suggesting Dodd should have had a RED for tripping field. Bizarre

I found it ironic that it was Lees who Dupree did that to. If they crack down on leading with the none ball carrying arm, Lees will need a season ticket in the main stand. I’ve been banging on about Lees doing that for the last few seasons.

Leading with the elbow could have broke Matty Lees,jaw

If his jaw was attached to his chest then I would agree.

Had he caught him on it then yes. I had no issue with the yellow and I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was a red because players shouldn’t be doing it, regardless of where the contact is. Matty Lees is by far the worst player in the league for doing it however, so I’ll await with interest how the refs handle it the next time he does it (which will be in the next game) and how Saints fans react to it.

Every player leads with the forearm/elbow. The referees will have to give a penalty every time a forward drives the ball in! It was nowhere near his jaw, he had more chance of getting whiplash.

Language is interesting, don't you think? It's "putting the bumpers up" when Lees does it and "Leading with the elbow" when it's Dupree.

Nick Fozzard, anyone?

I want to see 13 against 13. As for the indiscretion of Dodd, a trip was automatically a red card in the past it has now been downgraded to a yellow. Serious question, should players be allowed to lead with the forearm full stop?

If we’d of finished with 13 I think we would have won that game. The ref was shocking and I’ll see it with cherry and white glasses but we got penalised for a lot of things that saints were doing mainly around the ruck. The cards I have no issue with; Dupree lead with the arm hit the guys chest and it came up to his face. Byrne was a stupid one and although people say Percival slightly dipped it was no were near enough for Byrne to have mitigation. I can understand fatigue sets in but Jesus Christ player need to start dipping for tackle's.French did drop the ball for his try, begs the question if that camera filmed it clearly, why does the video ref cam look so poor. Do they enhance the picture after it’s filmed or something. I still stick by that even though I hate loosing on GF I can live with that one as I know this team (based on some of last years performances) could have won that. Saints looked shattered at times in that game and I’m not 100% sure that they had anymore in them to raise their performance, a saints fan would probably have to correct me on this. We really need to focus on our discipline because it will cost us games. I think we’ll be without Dupree and Byrne next week maybe Thompson.

I think they should be allowed to lead with the forearm as long as it’s not to the face/head. It’s obviously natural going into a collision that you’re going to put your arm out both for momentum and a bit of protection. Theres a fine line though between getting someone with the forearm and getting someone with the elbow so you’d have to get it right. Dupree in this instance clearly went with the elbow instead of the forearm

Why Thompson?

Interesting observation, I think we are a very fit team that puts in a tonne of effort. In big games I’d say we always look knackered towards the end, but it’s the kind of knackered where they’re still running their blood to water despite it. There’s been many games where I thought we were out on our feet but still managed to not concede. That said, the Catalan semi last year immediately comes to mind as a time when fatigue clearly played a huge part in costing us the game. Lees giving away a daft penalty and then the lazy tackle attempts on Tomkins. I suppose when you play such a high energy game, that kind of thing is bound to happen sometimes. It’s why we really need to improve on our attack so we can put some points on the board with our earlier dominance

He came back on after the HIA but I’d like to think if we can spare him next week we should. Lads been great and 5 games we’ve played he’s had two head knocks. Give him a rest if possible

Two run in with Leeds and a game against Wigan probs reading probs caught up. It’s still 5 games in and how we built in to last season I’m sure you still have growth. As a Wigan fan it feels a lot better than coming away from the games under Wolfe and Holbrook were we were hanging on for our lives and couldn’t cope with saints (at times your team looked superhuman) now it looks like it’s balanced and on paper I do think we should have won, games not played on paper obviously. You talking about the HIA tackle on Thompson? I don’t remember seeing any other tackle on Thompson, I’ve seen the HIA one and it looks like a clash of heads he’d be unlucky to get a ban for that. I’ve calmed down a bit from yesterday, Good luck for the season im sure you’ll sort the attack out.