The worst ref I've seen in my life. He just won't let a game flow. Constant penalties every single game he refs. He's upped his penalty count this year compared to last season and last season was horrific.

Super league is boring enough without this idiot slowing it down and spoiling it. Last year I was dreading going the games he was involved in.

Some of his poor decisions tonight was like something you'd see on Sundays with the u15s refs yet this idiot has two touch judges and video ref and still gets it wrong.

It's not his decision making that bothers me, it's his all round lack of presence. He's the kind of man who if he worked in a factory or a building site would be the guy you tape to the forklift truck or lock in the portaloo for a laugh. How the players maintain their composure when he's flapping about trying to justify his latest guess is beyond me. Not going to the screen when Inu scored was a mistake but on the whole I don't think he got too many decisions wrong after that, but he's one of those referees who cannot judge the impact of foul play. In a game was as many players and as many technical rules there will literally be something you could penalise on almost all plays. That doesn't mean you have to, the job of the referee is to judge when the rule breaking materially disadvantages the opposition, Hicks just gives everyone he sees.

Having said that, as poor a ref as he is, the players just don't help. The penalties that dragged Catalans back into the lead were perhaps the most stupid acts since Paul Cullen dropped his knees on a Wigan player to hand them the title at Wilderspool back in the day. The Watts one where he wheelbarrowed him was just idiotic and the constant attempts at the ball left him with no option to blow.

Superleague is on its last legs isn't it, no intensity, poor quality players and officials. The refs just can,t sort out the rucks and the inconsistent decisions keep on going year by year.

It needs freshening up unquestionbly but I don't think tonight was too bad. Both sides very focused on winning the game and I enjoyed the battle in the forwards. The refereeing is weak and I think the cause of a lot of the nonsense that goes on. There is an onus on the clubs and players however to come up with something better, it seems everyone has the same idea. That being copying the NRL. But without the individual quality to unlock defenses we are going to witness a lot of games for the purists.

Can anyone say that the new rules this year have improved the game any? When attacking the line the kicking game has change due to the fear of ending up defending a set of 7 tackles from the 20m line. In effect,it's not far short of having a penalty on the 20m and then tapping on the 30m with a set of 6. Yes i agree a good skill kicking game is required,but that's not always the case,so it's play safe and give 6 tackles deep in the opposition territory and try to keep the pressure on,or kick for 2 if you get a penalty,which we saw last night for 35mins with the score at 4-2.The new rule regarding the ruck area not standing square, has added to the problem of more penalties and not really tidied the ruck up in any way.

Anyway - A warm welcome to all Saints fans attending the LSV tonight, but hope you're going home with a loss.

There is a lot of wigin fever going about these days; more and more people watching the ref and not the game. If a ref is good or bad it will be for both teams.

But without the individual quality to unlock defenses we are going to witness a lot of games for the purists

Bloody hell sado I actually agree with you.

But that ain't good for the speccy.

Never said it would be. I just think there is too much emphasis on the ref's performance rather than the players.

It's because they put themselves in that position.

Just over 2 years ago they would not even give Hicks a Sky game , now he is rated the best . Not because he has improved just that the standard of refs is in sharp decline (and it was never very good to start with )

I believe he deliberately slows the games down with a mountain of pens so it's easier for him to control. He gives more pens than I've ever seen from a ref.

He reminds me of going to watch a Ganson game, where he seemed to think I'd paid to watch a refereeing exhibition. Look at the difference in flow between the two World Club games and the Wire game last night.

On the other hand, has he just got unlucky with teams of spoilers? He does make mistakes, but it's the players who decide to spoil. Compare that to the Wire and Cas attitude, where they just wanted to play. If he doesn't blow, the messing about carries on and gets messier. Sinbin earlier perhaps, because deliberate interference is as much a professional foul when on the forty metre line as it is when it occurs after a break.