What a terrific referee this guy has become. Having watched Silverwood dish out nearly 30 penalties in the Hudds/Saints game last week having a critical effect on the game how fantastic it is to see a guy who clearly wants to have as little influence on the game - beyond enforcing the laws - as possible.
Thought he got pretty much all calls right on Saturday and was pragmatic at the PTB. Only 3 penalties in the first half and you didn't think there should have been more. admittedly helped by 2 sides that wanted to play the game correctly, but still, too many refs go into big games wanting to be "part" of the occasion and feel like they have to blow the whistle at regular intervals.
Thaler let the players play yesterday, I hope he gets the GF (whoever is there).

I agree with you. Let the game proceed with as little interference as was possible. Almost anonymous, in a very good way. Top Ref

Thaler is that far in front of any other referee performance wise that he could ref every big game for the foreseeable future
If the whole of the SL players were asked to fill in a questionaire asking which ref they respected the most i reckon that Thaler would win by a landslide
Joe Cobb also looks like being a very good ref too

He's the best by a mile. He's been a ref since he was 12, apparently. Perhaps, the RFL should encourage more kids to take up refereeing at a young age, in the same way they do with junior players.

Thing with that is that you need to find a 12 year old with an enormously thick skin or a very mature attitude. Amateur RL, even at youth level, is a brutal place to be a match official.

Until that climate changes, it's going to be a difficult job convincing kids they'd rather referee than play the game no matter how good they are at it.

It's a shame. As a coach I've reffed minis RU games for years and even in that largely polite environment I've had to turn my ears off at some point in nearly every game. I have been challenged during games of U7's tag by coaches from various clubs wanting to point out all the things I was doing wrong, completely forgetting that at pretty much any age in junior rugby you could find something to blow your whistle for every 20 seconds if you were of a mind to spoil the day for all the kids.
Parents bad behaviour gets picked up by the kids and then you're stuffed.

Well said and couldn't agree more.A couple more Thaler type refs and SL would be far better off.Watching Silverwood blow the pea out of his Whistle in the Saints game peeved me right off.

he was very good but the players discipline was brilliant and that helped. the players in the saints v giants game were the opposite and didn't leave silverwood much option but to give the penalties

Tbf I've seen Silverwood and Bentham ref finals in the last few years and done fine also. Bentham did last year's Cup final and Silverwood our 2012 GF win with the minimum of fuss.

It's often the case that the refs, just like the players, up their game for a final. Helps also that teams try even harder to be disciplined in the finals than your average weekly game.

Thaler biggest plus point as has been pointed out before is that he's head and shoulders above the others in communicating with the players. Silverwood is awful and Child isn't much better. Bentham can be ok on that score and maybe Hicks will improve the more big matches he gets (still looks nervous to me) so prepared to give him time.

Going by how the games have been awarded to ref's lately in terms of getting the big sides then I think the RFL see the refs ranked as this....

Thaler
Silverwood
Hicks
Child
Cobb

Not sure about Bentham as he's been missing for several weeks now, probably above Hicks who got the televised Warrington vs Wigan last week so I think he's climbing up ahead of Child. Cobb last for the time being obviously with being new but should climb up over the next few seasons.

Also how old is Silverwood? Seems to have been referee-ing a long time now so can't have many more years left in him?

There are plenty doing the junior rugby these days, and the younger ones are better than the older ones. Two or three I have seen have been putting in top performances over last couple of years, now 15 & 16 year olds.

Thaler is first class, has been since he really came to prominence in the WCC game at Headingley in 2013.

I will add in my penniworth too......a ref that can do his job as anonymously but as effectively as Thaler has to be the beacon for all to aspire to. (Did he not also ref Leeds' semi against Saints in an equal manner?)

As others have said Thaler is awesome, number one by a mile.

Hardly noticed Thaler on Saturday which is exactly how it should be.

Just echoing what has already been said, he his well above the current crop of officials and I can't see any other ref getting the GF.

Not long ago I was thinking that maybe we’re too harsh on refs and it must be a really tough job. The game is getting quicker and players/coaches are getting much more ‘ref savvy’ with stretching the rules and playing up sometimes. Refs are only human too and can’t possibly see everything that goes on in a game that is played as fast as in SL.

Then Ben puts in a performance like on Saturday and proves that the standard of the rest is simply below par.

The disparity between the stuff that Thaler offers and the likes of Silverwood or Child is poles apart. Well done Ben and surely to God he can’t be the only decent ref in the country?

Thaler refs without ego, which I think is key to a good ref and is polar opposite to someone like silverwood, who seems to think the crowd have paid to come watch him and not the players. He seems to ref with a smile on his face and has the respect of the players. Hes head and shoulders above any other ref for a long time.

I'll echo the thoughts about Thaler, an excellent performance on Saturday, not bothered about players 'milking' penalties at the PTB, just tells them to get on with it (unless ball comes out).
Got to give credit to both teams though, especially KR, they could have easily spat dummy out like certain other teams and given Thaler an excuse to blow for penalties all the time, Leeds likewise, didn't mess about too much either.

Refs are great when you're winning aren't they? The fact thaler is touted (rightly) as the best shows how the demise in refereeing standards is echoing that of the players in super league. Refs are also barely noticeable during utter tonkings. I bet he becomes crap again should he oversee a leeds grand final loss.

Except I think you'll find - if you can be bothered to look - plenty of negative and positive comments about all referees on this board from the current season.

So in other words, you're wrong. But thanks for your contribution.

Although I support the point that Thaler's a decent enough ref I'd also add that on Saturday the players of both sides made his job fairly easy. Hull KR could easily have resorted to niggle, lying on or out-and-out illegal retribution. It's very much to their credit that they chose not to. I think there's little doubt that certain other sides would have done just that.

It was a fairly easy game to ref but he still did a good job. Other refs with bigger egos would have done a worse job with that game.

And this is what you do when you aren't I presume.