well he must of knocked on then?? so therefore no advantage to wigan scrum to wigan

Yeah that would have been the right decision but how did he come to ground the ball over the line? Did wheeler drop it? Because if so that should have been scrum to Wigan. And if tommy ripped it out then grounded it then that should have been a penalty to saints. Don't understand it myself.

Said the same at the game i dont know how it could of been a drop out restart. Either a knock on or a ball strip end of story.

I thought the same at the game and was baffled by that decision. When I got home and watched it on the tele I think the ref got it right.

The ball was knocked out by the Wigan player which was clear to see, the ref went to the VR to see if Wheeler had regained the ball and scored. The ball had been knocked out but then a wigan player grounded it.

Why wasn't it a penalty then

If its in the act of scoring a try, the defending player has a right to play at the ball whether there is more that one player in the tackle or not. We managed to strip it. It was then play on until Tommy grounded it, hence the drop out.

A similar thing happened to Pat a few years ago trying to score in the final minutes at Wakefield.

If it's stripped (or knocked out in this case) in the act of scoring, it's still a penalty to the attacking team.

As the OP said, Wheeler either knocked on (because it definitely went forward) or it was illegally stolen. It can't have been a drop-out and the VR got it wrong.

Am i wrong in saying you can legally rip the ball out if it is in the act of scoring a try?

You are wrong. It cant be a penalty try though and is just a penalty to the attacking team.

I seem to remember we did not get awarded the penalty in the wakefield game. Correct me if im wrong.

It's a confusing one. I expected a penalty to saints for a strip. Wheeler was short of the line either way so couldn't have been a penalty try.

I can only assume that it must be legal for the defenders to knock the ball out regardless of how many men are involved in the tackle when it's in the act of scoring a try, That's the only situation I can think of to warrant the drop out being awarded. Otherwise it should have been a scrum to Wigan for a knock on... or a penalty to saints for a 2 on 1 strip. Had it been just stripped one on one then Tommy grounded then the drop out would have been right. hmmm can anyone clarify if thats the actual rule?

Wakefield got a scrum (or 20 metre tap, can't remember) because the VR adjudged that Richards knocked on.

You cannot strip the ball with 2 defenders in the tackle - it doesn't matter where on the pitch it is.

The rule was changed so a penalty try could not be given if the ball was stripped illegally in the act of scoring a try. Now if it is stripped illegally, it's just a penalty.

I think you are right Wigg'n.

Perhaps it was judged that Tommy had stripped it as opposed to a saints knock on, as in the quite frankly farcical occasions where the defending team is judged to have knocked on if the ball goes the opposite way.

Either way, it is clearly an area where the rules need clearing up as there seem to be far too many grey areas.

I was listening to the VR and his ruling was as follows:

The drop-out was for Tommy grounding the ball after Wheeler lost it.

The reason that Wheeler lost it was that the ball was knocked out in the tackle - NOT that the ball was stripped in the tackle.

The difference being that if our player had deliberately struck the ball, it wouldd be stripping, but as he simply hit the ball during the act of making a tackle, it is legal.

Exactly the same as Pat's disallowed one at Wakefield a while back - Read "loose carry".