I think they’ve been worse than that usually tbh. There is an argument to say the HKR player still has the ball at the first point of contact. Play that at full speed and how can he not make the challenge? The alternative for Ellis is to leave him alone and then what happens if he straightens and goes through the line? He gets pelters and rightfully so.

Just to add some context, I had no issue with that red card in the semi, so this isn’t a moan that we’re being wronged all the time but I just can’t bag Ellis in this case because I think it’s harsh.

Disciplinary panel get it wrong again. If only a coach or two would come out and say something, I'm sure they'd get the backing of rival fans...

It's a conspiracy

Nah, they are just incompetent.

I wonder how quickly the happy clapper's will change their tune when Peet has something negative to say?

Wellens and Rowley have been called in for a telling off. Be interesting to see what happens

Boooo opposition coaches. I hope they get made an example of/[insert generic tribal insults]. How dare they call out refs and stick up for their own teams. Don't they know that Knowles injured Cooper etc.

I know you are being sarcastic here but if Wellens is charged/fined then I really hope McManus gets involved. His biggest gripe was that Passi's and Walmsley's medical reports weren't even considered in relation to Asiata despite Saints presenting them

In the case of Cooper, the fact that he was ruled out for so long meant that Knowles copped for a bigger ban.

I am 100% behind Wellens on this one.

The only issue I’ve got with Wellens is that nothing was said about Bell making an almost identical challenge the following week. He had to comment on it to avoid looking like that tackle is only an issue when it’s done on one of his players and not by one of his players.

I'm behind him & Rowley for that matter too.

Anything around refs/judiciary and I'm all for them being taken down a few pegs.

I can see your point

You were seriously ok with the red card NK? That decision was appalling! You get sent off and banned for someone (literally) head butting your shoulder? There is absolutely no way that could be direct contact to the head. It would have to go against the laws of physics for that to be the case. Utterly incompetent decision.

I'm trying to word this correctly. I was ok with that decision based on the fact that similar incidents are also seeing players given red cards, so I didn't feel too harshly treated in that regard. Do I think a challenge like that should be a red card? Not in the slightest, in fact I wouldn't even give a penalty for it but we are, where we are and the game is that nervous of litigation, they're going to extreme degrees with any sort of contact with the head. The powers that be seemingly want to do away with the fact that 'accidents can happen' in games and somebody has to pay a price in all incidents. It's wrong, I fully agree but that's the ridiculous place we find ourselves in and as such, I was able to deal with the red card and not think it was an appalling decision by the ref/video ref because it's the position they've been put in and it's not fair on those guys either. What there was no excuse for in that game was Liam Moore freezing in the last 10-15 minutes and deciding to stop making any decisions whatsoever. He may as well have walked off the field on the hour mark.

I look at this Ellis ban and I just think it highlights the absolutely ridiculous position the game is in. People have said Ellis shouldn't have done it but done what? put pressure on from marker and go to make a tackle? It's a tackle that didn't even look late to me but if it was, it was by a fraction of a second. The players aren't robots. I think fans will just turn away from the game if something doesn't happen to change the direction we're going in.

Ah right! I get where you're coming from now and totally agree that the game, refs, players and the clubs themselves are being put in an impossible position at the moment but the element of overreaction is exacerbating the situation in my opinion. The "someone has to pay" to every incident is ruining the game. I can sort of understand the refs getting it wrong but I can't excuse the video refs or disciplinary in the same way. They have time to reason these situations through and are not doing so.

I can understand and accept people making mistakes. I can't accept those mistakes being compounded as they currently are. The sending off and subsequent banning of Joe Shorrocks will add zero to the safety of the game. He'll make the same tackle hundreds of times in the future, and rightly so as he did nothing wrong apart from fail to remove his shoulder from his body so Lewis' head couldn't impact it when it shot forward. Alternatively he could have made sure he was a few inches shorter when he grew up then Lewis' head would contact with his own and it would have been an "unfortunate clash of heads".

Utter madness when you think about it.

The one thing that I really struggle with is when I watch the NRL and it is chalk and cheese. They're looking for contact with the head, of course they are, but there seems to be leeway to actually be sensible and not think everything automatically has to be a red card and a ban. It's the same sport and the same risk of litigation, so why is it so different? It seems like they are prepared to admit they cannot make the game 100% safe but we are not. I don't know what the answer is but we can't keep going down this path because the game is becoming less enjoyable and we cannot afford for that to be the case.

Could that not be explained by the legal action that past players are trying the take again the RFL? I don't think that it is a coincidence that we are seeing similar action and panic against head contact being taken by Rugby Union as they also have past players trying to take legal action against them.

I don't believe that the NRL are having these issues with past players, at least not publically or what i have seen. You could also make the argument that the NRL are far ahead of us when it comes to player safety from contact to the head. The bunker system is always looking out for any level of head contact and players are more frequently brought off the field for a HIA and this is mostly off the back of something seen by the bunker, not the referee. Players who would have probably played on in Super League if involved in a similar contact are going for HIA's in the NRL because the bunker is in place to spot these things.