I can't believe the outcry after what happened tonight,Ben Flower retaliated after getting a forearm to the face and imo got punished for knocking Hohaia out!if you actually watch the slow mo he backs out of the second punch.
It was a mistake to hit him again but I'v seen a lot worse on a rugby pitch.

I agree. That second punch to Hohaia on the floor when he seemed to be out cold was no way near as bad as...

Erm...

Wait a minute...

That forward pass in that game last month?

You win the prize.

Can't believe this thread, sine die him

The only way he backs out of the second punch is if you rewind it.

Been watching RL 30 years and played a fair few and seen plenty of cheap shots and thugs but struggling to remember seeing anything like it.

Wow, you need your head checking pal!

You my friend are a disgrace! Yes lance does use his arm to push him in the face and probably was a Pen to Wigan but what Ben Flower did was a utter disgrace and will get a chunky ban.

Poor little flower will have to live with losing his team the grand final for rest of his life.

Spot on, if Flower doesn't react it's a penalty to Wigan. He'd probably have got away with the first punch but when he followed it with the one on the floor he had to go and deserves a long ban.

Agreed.

For what it's worth, I thought Wigan played well tonight with only 12 men for virtually the whole game.

The outcry is justified really. Provoked or not you just cant do stuff like that. Flower lost his marbles and he is looking at 4-6 games at least imo.

Roughing up the other team is part of the game but you need to do it within the rules.

In my opinion the only way Saints were going to win was if we lost our discipline and we fell right in within a couple of minutes.

Wane has got the credit for our sucess but i think today he contributed to our downfall. We didnt need to be so pumped up to win this game and he should have known that. He should have had the players on their guard for getting sucked in.

Saints saw us coming and the rest is history. We need to learn from it and come back stronger.

No excuses for what Flower did. None whatsoever. I haven't seen Hohaia's elbows to the face yet but I've heard it was pretty bad too. However that should have been for the ref to deal with. The second punch was cowardly and irresponsible.

The other players were excellent tonight and were a credit to the club. Playing for pretty much the whole match a man down they hung in there and, in truth, could (should?) have won it. Congraulatons Saints. It's been a while between drinks so enjoy your win!

Hohaias handbags wouldn't of been mentioned without the retaliation.

Agree with the assessment that the first punch reversed the penalty and the second gets him a very very long ban...

Have to take your word for the elbows mate but it's certainly not what others are saying. As for the long ban...I certainly hope so! It's the least he deserves.

No, no, no, no and thrice no.
Seriously? That's the singular most barking statement I've seen on here this evening.
SW is a passionate pie man & I've got no problem with his attitude to games against the Stainers (wherever they come in the season).
That stupid little Welsh tw*t has nobody to blame but himself & personally, if I was in charge he'd be carrying his P45 with the rest of his kit out of Orrell as soon as the accountants get in on Monday.

This. I'm all for a bit of biff but this pillock cost us a GF title we would have won with ease. That second shot was a total disgrace and IMO he should pay the ultimate price.

Flower made the first contact. On the kick chase he makes what looked deliberate contact with lance, who then retaliated. Leave it at that and wigan probably get the penalty. Throwing the first punch is understandable to an extent, but to kneel over someone who is flat on their back whether they are unconscious or not is disgusting, no place for it in any form of society let alone in a professional sports match.

I have never seen anything like that and I have seen some dirty stuff at amatuer level but this is well past anything I have witnessed.

He has affected the reputation of his club and also the game in general, wigan should sack him really you shouldn't want someone like that to represent your club.

The RFL should take a heavy stand as well. De register him for a full season, and get him to see someone.

If this wasn't on the field he would be looking at jail time. It's that serious.

The most cowardly thing I have ever seen on a rugby pitch! He would be straight out of the door if he played for me!

The problem is, that's how you lot are told to play. We've seen the doco warriors down under where he tells his players " I'm giving you the freedom to be reckless" so Wane has no excuse.

Ive never seen so many high shots, messing about at the PTB in my life. Lockers can't tackle below the neck.

He still might be.

Behave. You're embarrassing yourself.

Again priceless

i watched warriors down under and was impressed with wane but everyone knows how he likes his teams to play.i've got no problem with how wigan play but when a coach is shown on camera telling his team to be reckless you ( as a club ) are always going to cop it from other fans after incidents like last night.if a wigan player was to commit a bad head high tackle in the future how can the coach come out and say it was more reckless than deliberate as people will be thinking whats the difference in wanes world.

"I'm giving you the freedom to be reckless"

Says it all really.

Oh come off it. You really are suggesting that behaviour from Flower has something to do with Wane's coaching? You're usually a great poster who talks a lot of sense. Flower would have faced a sin binning if he left it at the first punch IMO, but that second punch was out of order and fully deserves 6-8 matches, which I think he will get. Saints fans know deep down they were lucky that the incident happened in the first 3 minutes. Wigan still should have won that game, but congrats enjoy your victory, Saints did brilliant with their injuries to make the GF.

Anyone singling Lockers out for high tackles was obviously unaware Mase Masoe was playing.

On Flower, he has no defence and is rightly facing a long ban. The fact that it is still trending on Twitter and Facebook is really bad for the game. The 2 biggest stories in recent times are about a player going to RU and a player assaulting another.