It lends weight to the view that a not insignificant section of the Rovers fanbase are becoming increasingly prone to whining.

Well you could say that. I would then hope that you would take the B&W specs off and see that I used that example as it does actually prove my point what with nothing really changing when it was clear something needed too.
It's a long shot I know but one can only hope.

Oh BTW I haven't nor am I about to sign the petition as it is flawed but the system we have ATM is still not open enough.

As I say there ARE good refs below SL and when a SL ref drops one there should be a real issue of him being taken out of the firing line of SL rugby and given time to work through his 'game' whilst giving a younger/more greener ref a crack.
This has nothing to do with Hull KR but how are we ever going to get more refs SL ready if we restrict how many actually get a chance at a SL gig?

There will be referees capable of making thr step up to Superleague (and believe me, it is a BIG step up) but will they be any better than what's already there? There seems little point in trading in what you've got for an inferior model. A step towards increasing the number of refs available is to follow the Australian model of two on-field referees but I would imagine the biggest stumbling block would be cost. During the time I was officiating, I heard criticism of the cost of officials at every level of the game from Junior up to County level. Until the RFL and that in reality means the clubs, are prepared to properly fund the continued development of referees, we'll always struggle.

Local societies have always found it difficult tp recruit sufficient officials, this means that many games take place without an independent referee. Such a situation cannot assist player development, never mind referee development. Then if we look at the remuneration aspect it's hardly an attractive career path to chose, especially in the early days. Hull Society didn't charge at all for youth games, I doubt that has changed and it wasn't unusual to be appointed to referee two consecutive games on a Sunday morning. I was fortunate in that I didn't need the money and could usually take time off work as and when required, I also had a fully-expensed company car so travel expenses for out of town games wasn't a problem. It wasn't unusual for a rugby week to consist of:

Wednesday - schools middle
Friday - 'A' team middle
Saturday - Humberside League or BARLA middle or line
Sunday - 1st team line

Often I would also volunteer for a junior middle on a sunday morning, simply because there weren't enough referees to cover.

Add to that the cost of kit:

Black, red, yellow and green shirts and socks to match (none provided by the RFL)
Black shorts
Three pairs of rugby boots
Two pairs of Astroturf shoes for hard grounds
Touch Judge flags

Now factor in the already mentioned levels of touchline abuse and all of that adds up to not very attractive reasons to begin refereeing.

The RFL have occasionally embarked on a referees recruitment drive but that has been sporadic and of questionable success. Recruitment should be an ongoing exercise and should certainly be more professional than the past. New recruits should be mentored by senior referees but there simply aren't sufficient bodies to provide such a service. However we look at the problem of referees, it will always come back to simple numbers - there aren't enough coming into the system.

All your post proves is that you are a bitter fan who wants the referee to be punished for the perceived wrong he has inflicted upon your team. Are you really suggesting that Steve Ganson, our most experienced official and controller of referees, would learn anything whatsoever (in refereeing terms) from being dropped into the lower leagues for two weeks? Really? It's worth noting that this Hull KR fans-led crusade to improve refereeing standards was quite absent after last years Etihad derby. Funny that. Why not admit that what you really want is revenge against the nasty man who 'robbed' your team in your most important game of the season?

The petition thing may not be the right way to go but it has triggered discussion. I actually thought this was a reasonable debate, (very unusual for RL fans I know) and one worth having. Still you've managed to come along, add nothing and turn it into cross Hull ing contest.

Give over. He's posted his little petition on every board and it's been widely ridiculed. This 'discussion' would never have come about were it not for the Hull and Wigan results.

This.

You may have money for court cases but neither do I or RLFANS.-AS

Roger Lamplough, an old (red & white) friend of mine always reckoned that all referees were sexual deviants because only a deviant would take to a field with 10,000 people all wanting to f*** him

I'm fully behind this campaign, I've signed it at least six times so far.

No my post proves I'm having a debate.
Your post proves that you have taken the position of 'A Hull KR fans opinion=Automatically bad'.
I do wish you would take the specs off but clearly they are glued on so I guess we can give up hope on that.