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LMS is a pantomime villain and windup merchant I'll give you that, but other than him what are you talking about? Lomax got studded on his shin, that's going to sting a little if you're talking about that? Time wasting?

This isn’t just today, this is the Woolf era of players going down umpteen times a game with injuries to give your defence breathers (Lomax and previously Coote being the masters), and waste time/restore energy, playing for penalties (as Welsby did today) and Walmsley rolling around and moving off the mark constantly. Add in the old post challenge cup final ‘Covid’ debacle and Woolf is the new Michael Maguire in pushing every rule, for every single percent he can get, in any area he can find, to help win games.

That’s absolutely fine but Saints shouldn’t get a free ride and should be called out on it, just as Brett Hodgson called Welsby out after the game.

Hmm as anyone ever witnessed Walmsley playing the ball on the mark, think it’s rare as hens teeth.

How very dare you? Only Chris Hill ever feigned injury, although now he’s at Huddersfield the mantle of time wasting has passed to Whizzy Rascal.

Saints good team poor winners and even poorer losers..

I call this new green card ‘The Saints Card’

Make of that what you will.

I hope Lomax has got over his 14 injuries today.

Lomax is the whiniest rugby league player since the king of it… Wellens. That club, despite what they may say, started the footballification of RL with the moaning and berating of refs. Winning culture but a horrible one. Sick of getting battered by Wigan in the 80s early 90s they decided to sell their soul. To be fair they got a decent pay out.

Catalans have not looked clever so far. They are currently missing Mourgue & Davies who will no doubt give them a bit of umf. Pearce has been very quiet.
As usual I reckon St Helens and Wigan look to be main contenders and Leeds are bound to come good after their shaky start.

Toulouse huge favourites to go down. They looked dreadful v Hudds. It could be embarrassing.

Did Gale actually catch Lomax were he was rubbing it for the cameras ? Any contact on my tv looked higher up the leg. The policing of offside & moving off the mark was a joke.

Yes, Lomax missed the first 15 minutes of the second half getting stitches following the incident, or do you think we were playing Sironen at 6 for some tactical reason? Good to know getting spear tackled is playing for a penalty …

There was one team waving imaginary cards in the air yesterday, and it wasn’t Saints. We have teams claiming late tackles against us when the contact is before the ball leaves the foot, but good to know we’re living rent free here

Whether or not there was contact, and where upon Lomax's leg, it was a stupid and dangerous attempt at stopping a kick by Gale.

As for referees consistently bothering with offside, and moving forward two paces off the mark before playing the ball, well that irks me a lot. I don't kid myself that this will be monitored properly, and appropriate action taken, any time soon.

I'd say he did. Lomax has been lucky there, but still had stitches on a deep flesh wound. Absolutely no chance he was trying to get Gale sent off, it would have hurt.

Can't really argue with that tbf. It's quite a bad one. Lomax and Grace are terrible for going down though and rolling around. I would say on this occasion it's the boy who cried wolf. Everybody outside the cesspit of Redvee knows this.

I'd expect someone to remark "tis but a scratch".

Says the Saints contributor who is constantly on the Wire forum. I think it is the Wire living rent free in your head fella.

It will be interesting to see how the Disciplinary Panel deal with this incident.

Gale should receive a hefty match ban. I don`t recall ever seeing a Rugby League player lead with his studs raised like that, in all the time I have been watching the game.

Nor me, an odd trip or two, but nothing like Gale's studs up incident. Don't want this in our game.

He also picked Lomax up off the floor as he thought he was trying it on too. That got a couple of players a ban last season. In the new guidelines deliberate use of the studs is 3-5 from memory? Add on a couple for picking up the injured player and he could be looking at a while on the sidelines.

Thoughts from seeing matches over the weekend.

Saints phenomenal - Walmsley had a massive game. No let up when the interchanges took place.
Hull 2nd best in everything, although I still like the look of Satae and Sao. Once again indiscipline cost Hull dear - including the incredibly stupid Gale act. Rightly set off.
Thought there was a little more leeway by the ref on late shots / whiplash - and that stupid act by the Saints forward on the Hull player protecting his fullback. It doesn't matter to me that it was 'just' a shove, the Hull player wasn't expecting it and his head certainly went back. That's as bad as the Dwyer and Holmes incidents imo.
Both those packs will be a problem for us unless we have a 'cunning plan'.

Cats slightly on top of Wakey. Even though they lost I think Wakey can take a lot out of that - especially the 'never say die' attitude.
(The first ankle tap on Lineham proved pivotal in the end).
But again discipline cost Wakey.
Cats have big guys all over the park and at times looked like they would run away with it, but I think McNamara will not be too pleased. Plenty to work on.

Wigan - wow, but maybe that's partly due to the opposition. Jai Field - just how good is he? he simply destroyed Wigan - and I bet he is as quick if not quicker than Ashton. Already I think he's my MOS favourite.
I really like his play.
A shout out for Liam Tindall - again somebody who is very quick and looked at home in SL.
Sezer misfired.
Matt Peat has certainly got Wigan playing in a far more attractive way than I've seen for years.

Roll on next week.

4 tries for sio today duckie!!

I saw a tweet from Gale saying he “was trying to trap the ball”. Up there with “I didn’t know it was a party” for lame excuses!

Just read on BBC, looks like he could well end up with 8 matches!

It has to be a ban, I don't think gale is a dirty player but there is no place for that sort of challenge, it left a badly gashed leg and wasn't close to getting the ball. A very poor challenge.

How very dare you! I won't have a word said against Whizzy Rascal!



As for Saddened's "spear tackle", this from the disciplinary:

But, Wynne has not been charged for anything more, instead, the minutes have recorded that: “Player is not lifted into a dangerous position. Player holds a leg in a stationery tackle. Opponent contributes and rolls himself to the floor.”

As I've said over on the Wigan site, this is cheating to get another player sent off and needs dealing with.

I think the problem for Wynne was that as Welsby upended himself to make it look like a spear tackle, Wynne grabbed hold of the other leg. So it did look like a spear at full speed from the referees perspective.