The next time the is a punch thrown, elbow or shocker of a high shot, every fan, club and coach will be calling for x amount of month ban (especially Wigan fans).

The Wigan fans have started already, some wanted a 4 match ban for Lance.

Looking at the Flower ban I think he's got off a bit lightly, the disciplinary don,t seem to have covered the pre and post event, this is where Flower started it all hitting the head of Lance from behind when he wasn,t looking before Lance retaliated later. There was also a ground level suspicious forearm smash on Wellens face in retaliation of Wellens running in.
It seems as though the ban is just for the final "kill" punch and nothing else.

Eamonn McManus has behaved with a lot more dignity and understanding of Rugby League than all the press and news media put together. Thank heavens for that.

Of course it won't be enough for the hang and flog em brigade, many of whom have treated us to new depths of asininity on here.

I'm only glad that he didn't injure Hohai. I mean a life ban for that? Where on earth do you go if he'd say, broken an eye socket? On no wait punching a guy without provocation, who is defenceless on the ground early in a GF...I'm getting a strong sense of deja vu

I think it is time to draw a line under the affair and move on, looking forward to Good Friday already.

I think it's pretty much spot on. Calling it a '6 month' ban gives it a tone of severity which will help to satisfy the press and the mob, but in reality it's an 11 game ban, which is what I thought it should be (I was in favour of a 10-12 game ban). I don't think they've made a rod for their own back. This was a rare incident and has been given a rare punishment - comparable to Newton's ban for his antics in 2005 - and I don't think it will have any bearing on the day-to-day policing of more 'conventional' foul play. Yes, there will be amoebas with Twitter accounts who will vent their misspelled disapproval whenever a moderate ban is dished out for a punch or high tackle, but that's the world we live in.

We can draw a line under Ben Flower the individual but I think there will be a RFL review on possibly the Wigan club itself on its practices and how Mr Wane has coerced certain individuals to perform uncontrolled agressions. Mc Manus touched on the subject in his statement and I think this is what he was referencing to but structured to all clubs via the RFL.

Question for you - do you think that Shaun Wane is the only coach to preach 'uncontrolled aggression' (or maybe he's the only one stupid enough to get filmed doing so)?

Strange how Wigan's 'uncontrolled aggression' hasn't been picked up by refs before Saturday, Flower being the first red card of the season. If Masoe had connected with Gelling's head in the first set, as was his intention, we might be discussing Saints 'uncontrolled aggression instead. Glass houses my friend.

a) if Masoe had connected with gellings head, it would of been exactly the same as every tackle as SOL did on Masoe (I don't know what Masoe did to hack SOL off but he did a fantastic job of frustrating him out of the game imo) - but this is my biggest pet hate about rugby fans - if your player did something illegal than this thing that actually happened would be okay - well Masoe didn't connect (unlike SOL did on several occasions without being penalised.)

b) how do you know it was Masoes intention? Seems to me Saints plan was to rattle the cage knowing Wigan would overstep the mark and it would throw them off the game plan. I don't think it was ever our intention to decapitate anyone, and even if it was, Gelling would not of been our target!

C) no, let's not be naive, I'm sure there are other coaches who try and be motivators in that way. However, Wane has been the most vocal and open about it. He was the first person I've ever known to associate the word "hate" towards a saints wigan Derby. I don't hate wigan, I always thought we were above that. By taking it to that level trouble is always going to start.

McManus phrased it well. It needs looking at by all clubs at all levels. Player safety is paramount and it's quite clear where the line is.

Wigan are clearly the worst at this in SL however. They devised most of the awful techniques like attacking the standing leg knee joint under Maguire and it's continued under Wane. It won't take much for Wigan to fix and go back to succeeding legally. I think Leneghan can see this now, I'll bet he massively regrets the Wigan documentary and it's content and I'll bet he's had a word with Wane about how they go about things.

I thought at the time that the doco could come back to haunt them when a coach is basically saying you have a free reign to cause damage

No it wouldn't. We got a penalty.

His intent was clear.

Agree with you about the hating thing. I posted at the time that it was unnecessary, and quite simply untrue. I hope he learns from all this because he hasn't come out of it at all well.

I don't believe that Wigan are any dirtier than any other team. The seasonal penalty count and sin bin and sending off count rather cinfirms this.

And just to add Maguire didn't start the third man in tactic it was Brown at Huddersfield. Good coaching I'm afraid to say.

Maybe we should use this as a yard stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj57GvEj2DI

Maybe we should use this as a yard stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj57GvEj2DI

Yep not one of them stooped so low as to hit an unconscious player. But I'm sure if you want to go back over 20 years, then you will find plenty of Wiganers doing equally nasty shots. Skerritt had a whole school of dirty tactics.

But well done for going off topic.

Or maybe talk about Ken Gee, Joe Egan or Frank Collier perhaps.
Quite silly all this, as you say, not one mentioned would have hit an unconscious player like Flower did. Can't change the facts I'm afraid.

Barrie Mac was a nice clean player also. Hock and Newton was lovely clean players

It isn't going off topic at all. Most of this thread has been turned into a general dig at Wigan and not about the original topic. I am merely pointing with good illustration that all clubs use aggressive defence which sometimes oversteps the mark. It's a long way down from that moral high horse!

It was actually started by Mike Gregory, the late Terry Newton mentions it in his book "Come Clean" the adopted tactics from Mike Gregory was to injure the opponent he had a name for it, something like "Tackle and Tear" or "Rip and Tear".
Terry Newton loved it because it was a big part of his game, Maquire and Wane have properly took it to another level.

Maguire came from the Storm, who under Bellamy took wrestling and similar to whole new levels. The other teams and coaches mentioned are amateurs by comparison.

Yes but surely it must be Wigan's fault?

Didn't Craig Bellamy once play for Wigan? Coach them? Visit Wigan once?

Come on, didn't you know that Wigan are the only team in the world who play dirty?

You're not serious are you?

Just heard that Flower minutes prior to kick off, was boxer punching the padding on the goal posts as though something was on his agenda, did anybody see or can confirm this.

Just cancelled my sky sports for the winter, so can't see the game anymore.

If you think Flowers punch was bad have a look at this youtu.be/9pmCb5HtiVU He only got 14 weeks reduced to 10

If you think Flowers punch was bad have a look at this youtu.be/9pmCb5HtiVU He only got 14 weeks reduced to 10

Quote ="jaws1"If you think Flowers punch was bad have a look at this youtu.be/9pmCb5HtiVU He only got 14 weeks reduced to 10'" 14 Weeks seems about right. Mid-season that would have taken him out of at least 14 games if not more, with cup games etc. Reducing to to 10 is pretty weak from the RFU.

Quote ="jaws1"If you think Flowers punch was bad have a look at this youtu.be/9pmCb5HtiVU He only got 14 weeks reduced to 10'" 14 Weeks seems about right. Mid-season that would have taken him out of at least 14 games if not more, with cup games etc. Reducing to to 10 is pretty weak from the RFU.

The RU is DOOMED. Mums won't let their children play it and sponsors will run a mile.

DOOMED I tell ye DOOOOMED.

Quote ="nohalfbacks"Maybe we should use this as a yard stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj57GvEj2DI'" Luckily this was 22 years ago, so has no relevance to anything Ben Flower related.

Quote ="nohalfbacks"Maybe we should use this as a yard stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj57GvEj2DI'" Luckily this was 22 years ago, so has no relevance to anything Ben Flower related.