To be fair to Hock he probably thinks all other humans have random faces like him, so he probably had no idea where Harrison's eyes were.

unfortunate incident, worth of a couple of matches ban, Harrison isnt exactly Mother Theresa here, Hock retailiated to elbow to the face.

Unfortunately there is no consistency within reffing of the game, tripping, professional fouls, biff and head tackles go unpunished if you are the home team.
I also seem to remember against Cas the ball being kicked out of Sams hands whilst defending the try line and a try being given.

No excuse for the loss, we loss because we didnt turn up, looked lacklustre, uncharateristic errors all round the team. Wire obviously spurred on from watching us lift the cup last week, having their captian back and having a extra weeks rest.

How do you explain the ease with which he locates his nose?

Fair enough; like I say I wasn't sure.

You can only really conclude it was intentional (as at best he's pulling on the head of an opponent) as he then throws a punch. In which case he's simply an idiot and it was completely uncalled for. Talent or not talent, I'm starting to think we'd be better off without, even though Harrison was no angel either.

He wafts his Barclaycard from side to side in front of his face, getting ever closer, and when it hits something, that's his nose.

only after Hock had tried to rearrange his eye balls....what was he supposed to do...just let him?

I'm fairly confident someone who retaliates, historically at least, has had a harsher punishment. It should simply have been left to the ref, Hock would still be, rightly, banned.

Nothing wrong with it, move on.

On this week's edition of "Tomkins-gate" - you're not allowed to kick the ball out of a player's hands. Penalty try or 8 point try for dangerous play should be considered. Then that should be the end of it. I doubt the disciplinary will do anything more than issue a caution. Rightly so, nothing to see here.

I recall Lee Briers conceding a penalty try at Headingley for the same thing. Don't recall whether he copped a ban for it or not.

Haven't seen the Hock incident in enough detail to comment. [u[iIn general[/i[/u, if players are guilty of gouging, I personally don't think the RFL's ban lengths are sufficient, and for once the RFU's stance would be more apt. Again, I stress this is a general observation, not a comment on this particular incident.

Hock has always been a trade off between great ability with a tendancy for the red mist to descend.

I really think if what he did yesterday was deliberate then he has sunk to a new low. i have never seen an intentional gouging incident in the hundreds of RL games I have seen over the years.

I believe this is a regular occurence for the RAH RAH brigade but I never thought I would see it in League.

Mr Hock should be spending a good few weeks on the sidelines and it's about time somene considered is he really worth the trouble.

What Hock did was a disgrace and he should be given a good ban for that one. I think everyone's being harsh on Tomkins though, no malice intended there for me, just trying to stop the ball from being grounded, albeit he could have tried a better option. What Briers did afterwards was a joke and he should have been binned. And it's making me chuckle reading all this praise for him being nice to the ref... Am I the only one that picked up on his obvious sarcasm??

It's a fine line between sounding sarcastic and respectful when you HAVE to call the referee "sir".

Not saying players shouldn't call the referee "sir", but to be fair to Briers, it's all he could really say. His hurried dash to the other end of the field was a joke, though, he damn well knew he'd done wrong and he was going to get a talking to.

Otherwise, Poyser, can't disagree.

He didn't.

Trying to get your foot under the ball is fair enough, but it's like tackling... if you get it wrong, expect to get pulled up for it.

Spot on. I have no doubt he was trying to stop the try rather than kick Clarke, but it was dangerous and a bit silly.

Slater does it all the time and it really irritates me - it shows a lack of regard for the player in possession IMO.

I agree with you but the problem is he (or tommy maybe?) had it done to him not long ago against Leeds I think and it went unpunished and the Wigan players didnt kick off like Briers did. Now if that happens you assume "wait a minute? Is that allowed now?" To me Briers should be more likely to cop a ban than Tomkins as Tomkins didnt do anything wrong by the looks of it but Briers should be done for "inciting violence" or whatever they call it.

Exactly so, which appears to typify the current Wigan approach to the game; that's the *real* reason so many neutral fans become exercised about it - not an irrational hatred of one young lad or an all-consuming jealousy, as many Wigan fans would have it.

With getting your foot under the ball, the speed at which you arrive is the key. You can't really be sliding in like that.

Not a massive issue. I'd like to see it clamped down on a bit, and a few 8 point tries would probably do it. Perhaps something to look at over the winter?

It isn't generally being punished at the moment, so no real case to answer here. I expect a "be more careful next time" sort of caution.

Mr Briers may be in receipt of a slightly more strongly worded caution for his part in the ensuing melee.

That's a bit of a leap.

I genuinely can't remember the last time I saw that from a Wigan player. To say it typifies the approach of the club is pushing it IMO

Will you please stop the truth from interfering with prejudice? You'll never get anywhere with you attitude...

"Wigan approach to the game"? What about the lads just doing their best to graft, make the hard yards, the hard tackles and to play the game - what about Richards, Carmont, Coley, Hoffman, Finch, Deacon, Hansen, Lockers, Prescott, Mossop, Goulding, Charnley, J Tomkins, O'Carroll, Tuson, McIlorum, Leuluai, Marsh, Farrell, etc? What are they all guilty of?

There are couple of players that knee-jerk RL fans react badly to - Sam, Lima and Hock. Yet all of a sudden "Wigan" in the dock.

So what exactly are the rest of the squad guilty of?

I remember Kris Radlinski stopping (well he might have done) a Cunningham try at Murryfield in the 2002 cup final by sticking a leg out and pushing Cunningham back but I dont recall anyone jumping on him looking to batter the living daylights out of him.

It was another ridiculous over-reaction because it was Sam Tomkins and things are getting out of hand on that score. The game is running the risk of driving him in to Unions arms at the minute. I've said before he's far from perfect and he's done some silly things but he's not on his own.

If pretty much any other fullback in the league did that not a thing would have been said or done.

It speaks to the win at all costs, ultra-aggressive style of play that Maguire brought with him from the Storm; wrestling, gang-tackles, attacking the standing leg, kicking out in tackles - a general disregard for the safety and welfare of opposition players.

It's awful to watch as a neutral and for me, has damaged the English game.

Before anyone mentions it by the way, I know that WTW are e and I'm not bitter or jealous; I just love the game but hate the way Maguire has you playing it - I don't believe I'm alone in that sentiment.

Blah, Blah, Blah

Same old tripe being spouted by bitter fans from other clubs. You have listened to that bitter old man Kear for far to long.

[size=150Dont watch Wigan

or is that to simple for you[/size

Probably because he got his leg under the ball rather than booting his arm

What utter rubbish. To suggest what Hock did is a result of the way the team is coached is ridiculous. The win at al costs charge is ridiculous as well. The fact Wigan play a relentless type of game is the norm in the NRL. Go and watch some of that an learn about the game before spouting such rubbish.



You are not alone being on a stupid bandwagon that is for sure. What were they saying about Wembley? best final since it's return there? Joel's try one of THE Wembley great tries? Last years GF another length of the field effort from Gleeson involving several players. Breathtaking stuff would you not agree?