they could have restarted the game the same as they did with Philbin, Isa wasnt tackled but the game was stopped

To be fair Isa and everyone else stopped where as with the Marshall incident everyone carried on

so could have restarted the game the same as there was no tackle complete....just because people stopped the ref was the one who actually stopped the game

Got it in one.

bit of a cop out, do the refs or players stop play?

Well you can't exactly make the players continue if they all stop can you? That forces the ref's hand, and obviously no one would complain about treating that as a tackle as they had all stopped. That's a bit different to the ref stopping one team as they are running in for a try. We can disagree with the rules all we want, all I'm explaining is that (whether people like it or not) the game wasn't stopped immediately because no tackle had been completed, and that it would have been stopped at the next tackle had there been one. That's not a random brainfart from Hicks, it's the same way the game has been officiated for at least the last 20 years that I have been watching/involved. No idea whether it used to be different before that.

yeah you shout play on, happens a lot when people think there have been knock ons etc and the ref shouts play on and they start going again.....so why didnt the ref shout play on when Isa stopped?

Because he would presumably say "No there's an injury sir" and it becomes messy. It's simple game-smarts to just put time off if both teams are stood still, no one will complain. Very different scenario to yesterday where Wire would have gone ape for having a perfectly good try disallowed because a player has gone down holding his head. Then maybe they even lose the ball after that, or at least lose all those metres, when they have done nothing wrong. I'm getting bored of talking about this call now to be fair. It's pretty basic that you don't put time off for an injury until a tackle is completed, and that you don't penalise accidental acts. It looks crap having a team run in for a try while a man is down with a head injury but I don't have a better idea for how to do it. If you change that then the system becomes wide open to players feigning injuries to prevent tries. It's already bad enough with players going down to slow the game down.

then the ref says play on.......I dont really care if Wire had gone ape the ref had already messed the game up with his garbage calls and wound players up. So like I said before do players or the ref stop the game? I played for over 20 years and never saw players stop a game...

Of course the players can stop the game if both teams just stop. I don't know why you think they will spring back into action just because he shouts play on

He's not got a playstation controller, they're grown men with their own minds. It's common sense to stop the game if both teams stop. That didn't happen for the full lengther so irrelevant.

so when both teams stop when a ball hits the floor when they think its a knock on and the ref calls play on they still just stand there or do they carry on? So what we should do if both teams stop in future when they think its a knock on is just give one? yeah alreet

......please dont use Hicks and common sense in the same sentence, he is inept and devoid of it

Off course they will, but for anyone to think that the poor crowd of 5,500 is all to do with Covid19 is in fantasy land as many older supporters see a situation like of the seventies, a lack of the same interest when they see the the squad and indeed the game now is in a poorer state compared to what it used to be prior to Rugby Union going professional.

I was one of the loyal supporters in the seventies who was part of Wigan crowds as low as 2,500/3,000 and the highlight of a season for Wigan supporters was watching a Challenge Cup Semi Final at Central Park between other clubs due to the decline of the then Wigan squad.

The way things are at the moment, many older supporters are seeing the same kind of decline beginning to happen again.

What the club badly needs now is a new Uncle Mo, who knew how to create interest among supporters and get crowds into the ground by signing top class experienced players which rebounded into more youngsters wanting to play the game at the local amateur clubs which from I understand is not the case now.

Tough to put a figure on it but looking at Leeds and Wires crowds recently, I’d say they have been around 2,000 down on what they would’ve expected on the same nights and against the same teams back in 2019. We were about 5,000 down against Wakey by comparison, so a difference of around 3,000. Those 3,000 aren’t going to turn up to watch a team that has averaged 10 points a game over the last 9 fixtures. It’s turgid rugby and just offers no entertainment value whatsoever. I go because I’m a saddo and will support the club come what may but I fully understand people who would say there’s no incentive to go. It isn’t enjoyable watching the team, in fact at times you go away in a worse mood than the one you turned up in. The none die hards go to be entertained, to sit there and have some wow moments during the game and to walk away with a spring in their step. Watching us struggle to string 3 passes together, getting totally dominated in the middle of the field and pinch one or two try’s at best a game isn’t going to get those people in the ground. It certainly won’t be changing this season so we’ll have to grin and bear it. It’ll be the Saints crowd that will be a real eye opener. I doubt it’ll break 10,000-11,000 unless Saints bring 4,000 or 5,000 with them.

did you hear what the attendance was on weds? i've not seen it

8,000 and a bit is what I heard. It’s a Wednesday fixture, so I’d have expected you to get about 10k on in a Wednesday in 2019. It’s not too worrying a drop that in the current climate IMO.

Impossible to make a judgement on how crowds will be affected until the next round of season ticket sales. Those who understandably didn't buy one this year will probably be unlikely to buy match tickets. I am a little surprised there are no half season ticket packages.

Previously taking someone’s head off in a Wire v Wigan game was compulsory not accidental. Even in pre season “friendlies “ Locker Cup often saw a season ending injury or 2.

Supporters should stop making excuses about mid week games and Covid19 and face the fact that there is not the same interest in the game today as there was in season's past.

A situation which will be hard to rectify with more and more supporters finding other interests outside watching Rugby League.

So are you saying they don't penalise "accidental offside" or that when a player falling receives a head high tackle it is deliberate or intentional?

Correct, they don't penalise accidental offside. It is a turnover (or scrum pre-COVID)


Already answered earlier:

A bit pedantic Grimmy. It certainly isn't play on!


As for the comparison to head high: are you saying Charnley didn't intend making contact? Then why didn't he try to jump over the prone player? He absolutely intended to (as he puts it) "put his boots where Marshall's head was" (sic). I'm not suggesting he tried to injure him purposely but he did intend to...shall we say.."compete" for the ball. It's not dissimilar to when a player slides into the tackle feet first in football and takes the player rather than the ball. It's no use pleading "but I was going for the ball, I didn't intend to make contact". That just doesn't wash.

I thought I was looking at old pages from Redvee when I read this. Think you'll find that the Saints coach's team selection for that game cost them the cup, not Hicks.

I don't think he had time to attempt to jump over him to be honest. If he was intending to stick his boot in there (whether going for the ball or not) then it's reckless rather than accidental and should be at least a sin bin, more likely a red given the severity.

Had Marshall been a one foot high wall he’d have jumped over him.

You only have to look at the atmospheres created by supporters at Emerald Headingly, Totally Wicked and Helliwell Jones Stadiums compared to that at the DW Stadium.

Like being in a morgue, until the team get well in front!

Our problem is that the DW Stadium is too big in capacity because of Whelan and the Council having the ridiculous idea that the Latics would draw in bigger crowds for every game and Wigan would become a bigger football town like Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Burnley, Preston etc.