Phil Bentham presumably qualified through the Warrington refereeing society which I guess is why people perceive him (and not unreasonably IMO) to be from Warrington. Under the home town bar that was in place prior to 2008 Bentham was prevented from officiating on the field at any Warrington games although IIRC that didn't extend to VR duties.

Since the lifting of the bar Bentham has controlled a total of eighteen Warrington games in the SL Regular Rounds where they have taken 75% of the points on offer. Over that six season stretch excluding the Bentham controlled games Warrington have taken 66%

I'm guessing you didn't pass GCSE physics, did you?

So being a lobby explains why Bentham's LinkedIn profile says he's from Warrington then?

benttham is a lobby gobbler, as his his dad, he's said so at several warrington fans forums over the years, he's just prefers our side of the tracks to his own neck of the woods.


and make no mistake, he's not well like over our way either, this is lie bloke who didn't send tommy lee off last year for his ridiculously high swinging arm on briers at huddersfield last year.

We are over it.We have got over it,but its a forum its about discussion we would be discussing it at the same length even if we had won..Otherwise there not be much point in having a forum would there?

Well How about last year at OT?when Ablett made him look nonexistant

Congrats Motty...you win the biggest bite of the season contest. Give yourself a chocolate digestive

Dont need the life story pal. Stop taken yourself so seriousl....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

What are you blabbering on about? We never disagreed with you. If baileys smacks someone in the head he should be sent off like others have. Captains will always speak with the referee. If a ref changes or bases his decision on what a capatin says it simply backs up what we are saying about the incompetence of refs.

As in State of Origin games, same in the play-offs - stakes are higher, refs are more lenient. No harm was done by the Briers punch, which, by the way, wasn't from behind as Ablett clearly ducked! It was 13 against 13 and Leeds shipped 34 legitimate points in the game which will be a bigger concern to BMc.

Lee Briers may be a pain in the backside, but he's no coward. He's taked plenty of cheap shots in his career and can be foprgiven for having a go back. Actually it was pretty brave taking on a bloke twice his size.
It is not inconceivable that referrees will try to keep all 13 on the pitch for a better spectacle. Just after the Briers punch Gaz Hock tweeted "if that was me I'd have been sent off and banned for 3 games" (I've cleared up the grammar!). Well yes Gaz you would - but then like Ryan Bailey, you've got plenty of previous. Briers is a Stand Off for God's sake. Ablett took the punch and got on with the game, no harm done.

The BOTD try WAS a joke but it maybe evened things up as Watkins forward pass - as "momentum" or not - it was 5 metres forward on the play back which Childs and Bentham would have seen.

But hey, ref's make mistakes, none of them are bent. A couple of season's back every game that Bentham reffed at Wigan we lost. You should have heard the conspiracy theories! He, like Child, is just a very poor ref. Not bent, just poor, and we ALL suffer.

I've never understood this business of - if the ref's home town is x then he can't ref when x are playing. FWIW I always thought that Ganson, despite coming from Saints reffed fairly, wasn't afraid to give tough decisions and most definately wasn't bent. Some Wigan fans thought he was the devil incarnate!

Ah well, I suspect that this won't affect Leeds effort to get to thge GF in any case. I rather fancy you to turn Saints over then do Warry in the return. See you at Old Trafford!!!

the only thing i disagree with is the briers is only a stand off.
is there a rule that smaller players are allowed to punch as it won't hurt as much?

I have.

Nope, the grip is on the collar only.


I have, in slo-mo.
No forward passes, you can tell immediately in both passes by the angle that the ball leaves the passing players' hands.

Surely not; and Yorkshire, unlike Lancashire, isn't a country ....

Fair comment - you are right. I suppose if it had been for e.g. Morley, Ablett might have felt it - and there would have been a justifiable sending off. Smaller players do get picked on and wouldn't be human if they didn't lose it from time to time.

I think Lee might be getting some stick at training today for getting in a clean shot .... and it had no effect.

If it was Bailey he indeed probably would be banned for a game or two, but he has form, everybody knows he sets out to wind everyone up and is always first in to have a fight and first out when someone his own size comes in to have a go back.

Immediately before Briers lashing out, he copped one in the face from Ablett before he caught him by the collar, then he said something to him while he was on the floor. Doesn't make it okay for Briers attempt to hit Ablett, but it wasn't entirely unprovoked. He also only hit him on the shoulder.

As for the try, it is clearly on the floor when Benny gets up off the ground, ergo, if must have touched the floor at some point to be there so I don't see the problem. If it makes you feel better, Bentham didn't give it as a try, he gave benefit of the doubt, what else was he to do in the situation? Not give it because Leeds' fans didn't want it to be given?

That's for fairly obviously reasons.

you only saw the ball on the floor when the whistle had gone and players had moved. to give it on that would be an absolute joke.
i suspect had that happened against you in a final there may have been a different opinion.
if you cannot see the ball, whatever the teams involved, a try should not be given.
indeed bentham as VR once disallowed a peacock 'try' for exactly that reason

This is true, and a fair enough point to some extent, but why should it not be given? Plenty of times people pile on when someone is over the line, clearly just to obstruct the camera's view should it go to the screen. Of course we'd be just as bitter as you lot are if the shoe was on the other foot, but that's the fact, sports fans are highly hypocritical. But the fact that benefit of the doubt is there for when it is unclear but possible is there for situations like this. The defending team should have done better than let the attackers over their goal line in the first place so if it's a dodgy decision then try better next time.

It doesn't matter if it was 50m forward when BJB catches it, the original direction was clearly backwards.

That should get him off at Red Hall, disgraceful behaviour. I'm just relieved my daughter wasn't watching.

Ah, the oft told myth of Ryan Bailey, it never gets less interesting no matter how many times it's repeated. He sets out to wind everybody up, so? I've never seen him punch an opponent who has his back turned. Briers sucker punched Ablett which is the act of a coward and he was saved by a cowardly ref. For me it should be a 3 match ban because Ablett was walking away from him.



In that case every player on the pitch should be allowed one free punch on someone. Later in the game Briers kneed Delaney in the head, I'd like to see him get a ban for that too, but would have settled for Brier's brand of justice, he'd have ended up even uglier if Delaney had meted it out.

And finally, people who don't understand that a ball can move backwards whilst travelling forwards should really stop watching this game.



Firstly it's not even clearly on the floor when old 'elbows Westwood' gets up, so that's that argument immediately out of the window. Secondly, and I may have imagined this, but I was under the impression that your own team mates are not allowed to help you in grounding the ball, so as soon as the other player (Hill?) became involved that should have been the end of the play. Either way, benefit of the doubt was not brought in to create try's that were almost certainly not scored.

Must have been dead windy on Saturday if it started out backwards and ended up 5 yards forward.

Either that or Watkins could share the new ball with Jimmy Anderson next winter if he can swing it that much.

The play becomes dead when either a) Hill lends weight, or assuming that Child completely missed that happening when he blows the whistle to go to the screen.

Where the ball subsequently ends up five seconds later once the players start peeling off the floor is a complete red herring, and only an idiot (or Phil Bentham) would use that to form an argument that the ball must therefore have been on the floor five seconds earlier.

If a player is over the line and there is no evidence to suggest that the ball has been grounded prior to play being stopped, then "benefit of the doubt" is no better than just ignoring the evidence in front of you and flipping a coin.

Another GCSE physics failure. I fear for the future of British scientific advancement if this is what the education system is churning out.

If he sets out to purposely rile people up into fighting with his cheap shots and his bullying of people like Riley then that is a clear indication that he is spoiling for a fight, that's form. Lee Briers does not do that. Ablett saw the punch coming so don't pull that one, he even ducked.



Where did I say Briers was right to hit anyone? I specifically said that he shouldn't have done it. I only said it wasn't unprovoked, which it wasn't, somebody cops you in the head you're gonna wanna do it back.

Just because you have been brain washed by the idiots on commentary doesn't mean everybody has. A ball can not simultaneously go backwards and forwards, end of. It either goes 5 metres forwards or it doesn't.



Are you hard of sight? Because I wear glasses and I clearly saw it on the floor when Westwood got up. Well sorry but you are allowed. Surely if you're all allowed to gang in and push a player into touch then you can also aid your own player in getting over the line. It wasn't clear, so 'almost certainly' doesn't come into it. 50/50 = attacking team, defend your line better next time instead of letting someone run 30 or 40 metres down field bouncing off feeble tackle attempts from your winger and fullback.