will be interesting to see if alibert gets a ban for this, wasnt he dropped earlier in the year for miscounting the tackle count, so thats at least twice in the same season he has cocked up, but knowing the rfl he will probably get the reward of a play off game this weekend at the KC stadium no doubt. I know people say that reffing is a hard job, but so is mine and if i made so many mistakes on a regular basis i would be out on my ear.

IMO alibert should NOT be banned. He got the alleged incident spot on originally- waived play on (although the ball could well of gone forward!) and having not seen any foul play took the available option to put the incident on report. It appeared to be interference from OFF the field that lead to the sending off. Perhaps someone got scared that kirke was seriously injured and felt that they didn't want repercussions.

Hence a statement from the RFL would be very welcome, to put our minds at rest re the blatant targeting of LOD by officials!!

I believe that the RFL and/or cummings should come out in public and explain the reasoning behind the red card and aplogise for the farce.
I think we can all agree that nonne of us clearly saw much wrong at the time,neither it appeared did the officials.in that case put it on report and if there is any wrongdoing then let the disciplinary deal with it.
To send a player off retrospectively when nobody has seen anything at the time of the incident is ludicrous,are we now going down the road of sending a player off whenever an oposition player gets injured regardless of the intial contact? The actions of the officials in sending LOD off without any evidence of wrongdoing is bordering on disrepute and they should be held accountable

Jools,the fact is that alibert and the touch judges saw nothing wrong, he is the man in charge he should have stuck to his initial reacction and let the disciplinary sort it, if he has been swayed by people in the stands or on the field he should be held accountable,whats the point in having a referee on the field if match commissioners or fourth officials can make decisions that go against his decisions on the field.
Yes kirke was in a bad way and we all felt for the guy but that should not influence a referee's decision.red cards should be on the incident not the outcome.

We can probably manage without the casual homophobia though

In one sense I agree. However, the referee is the top dog in the group officiating a match. He makes the ultimate decision.

Well said

Ditto.

Agree joolio.Maybe it was the match commissioner who ordered the sending off to prevent things getting nasty on both the playing field and in the stands.

I don't think the commissioner has that authority. And for calming it down, that was what I read into the substitution - calm the situation down and try and get O'Donnell's head clear.

Just read that Kirke had stopped breathing for a time after the incident, so props to the medical staff on duty

Oi don't talk about Kevin Sinfield like that you'll have all the whinos on here moaning!!

That's exactly correct, PA said exactly the same thing when he brought LOD off. I think it was Ablett who was getting himself wound up, along with the usual suspects.

Found inside info on the RFL reviewing what went on!!

A big red cross?

would have been an interesting situation if we had actually lost the game to see what the reaction would have been from all sides.....the thing is i think the situation only incensed our guys even more.

I really hope this hasn't set a precedent now, ie players being sent from the field of play because a member of the opposition gets injured ....what happened to Kirke was purely a bad luck accident that could have happened to anyone...unfortunately the 'match official targeted' Luke O'Donnell was part of the accident too and obviously it had to be foul play with him involved which i'm sure is what Messrs sinfield, hetherington and anyone else who wanted to see LOD out of the game were telling the useless buffoons on the field !!

Cleared for the play offs

I'm very glad the correct decision has been made with regards to a suspension.

I can't help but feel bad for LOD, finally comes back from injury to get sent off after 15 minutes! In those 15 minutes though I hope he has soothed all those on here who think we should get rid of him, the guy is a hell of a player and just what our pack has been missing. Back to full fitness with a full pre-season he should be our starting 13 next year for me.

Looking forward to seeing him play on Sunday.

Absolutely, he was carving them to shreds and smashing them in the tackle

Spurred the other forwards on too I think

Without doubt.

Broughy was outstanding but would have given LOD man of the match just to show what a shockingly bent disgusting decision it was to send him off!!

how hard is LOD head btw he acted like nwt had happend while a big forward lays flat out ?

hasnt been mentioned had it, usually both players feel it!

must be made of iron!

Although it was a tough day for Kirke, there's nothing like a big hit to lift your team and the fans. More of the same please Luke on Sunday. It's been a while since our forwards dominated a game like that. Eorl gave Peacock a good hiding too in the first half and Mason had his best game of the season IMO. Keep it up guys it was great to see.