The game is just so amateur at times! the biggest game of the season results in a reduction in the amount of officials involved and a change in the seasons rules! Absolutely incredible that but we’ve still massively messed up and the young fellas pay for it.

Just to clarify, my understanding is that they didn’t change the number of officials for the SF, there’s been no interchange official all season at Academy level.

Fair enough, it seems our fault then. I keep reading people calling cheating against Wigan but it feels anything but. It just feels like a scenario where somebody had been a bit dense and they’ve been caught short.

Just returned to the forums to point out this is wrong. Academy games are all 8 subs the same as with all other levels of the professional competition. It is also exactly like Super League in that players get strapped up and carry on. Basically your whole post is untrue, nothing changed for the semi finals and they adhere to the same interchange rules as SL.

As you rightly pointed out later, there is also no reserve ref appointed to any level of academy rugby bar the final so no one to manage the subs (on the odd occasion you get a young match official doing it voluntarily). They're generally reliant on the honesty of the clubs and can look back at the footage if an issue is raised.

I don't know what caused the timing issue. Possibly a late complaint. Possibly took a while to deduce what happened with the subs as there isn't a camera pointed at the bench the whole time. You would have a bit of detective work to do tracking which players are on and off. Then they would have to check in Wigan what (if any) concussion assessments happened as they can result in free subs.

Of course it’s untrue. StuM is the biggest bull****** since king warrior on these forums.

Not even hiding it anymore.

In professional sport there should be. There are plenty of qualified volunteers who could manage the process. Having said that, Wigan have no excuse.

No because its embarrassing and we deserve booting out because of it

Always makes me wonder why so many fans absolutely hate the club?

I’m only going off what I’ve been told. However I’m also wondering in that case that if the official mandate is 8 subs but no one in an official capacity is managing that, then perhaps coaches have an unwritten rule between them that they’ll use more subs during the regular season games.

Hull K R beat Warrington 18 - 13 in the 1977/78 premiership trophy but were disqualified for playing an unregistered player, Warrington were awarded the game, beat Featherstone in a 2 legged semi final then lost to St. Helens at Station Road, Swinton

Don't if anyone's seen it but Keith Mason's had a right meltdown on Twitter over it

I always feel for his lad with the amount of pressure he heaps on him.

I can’t blame him, he has been let down.

Not so bad.