If he'd turned round and landed one on his jaw cleaning him out he'd be looking at the same length of ban(ish) so don't see the problem. whether it's a punch or a headbut if someone is going to run in from the side and give it large they should expect to get dropped. Maybe if Thaler had a bit of authority about him and managed the game better and dealt with the high shots, tempers and emotions wouldn't run so high.



It's Rugby League, not a tickling contest. A tough, high intestity, physical game, played by athletes full of raw testosterone who have been toned/moulded/shaped & trained to run hard and fast with aggression. Then all the do-gooder, snowflake, 'someone think of the children', 'family game' types kick off and moan and act shocked when tempers flair.



People WANT to see the biff. the sport has become a drab, grey, un-marketable wasteland for about 6 years now. If warrington advertises games as 'bad blood', gets the fans on their feet and shows a big tough physical team taking no $h*7 from anyone, then good. Hopefully it'll inspire some other clubs to do the same instead of crying 'woe is me' and looking for RFL hand outs.

The problem is twofold,. 1 there was no need for it, it was the usual handbags

2 it was a pathetic attempt at a headbutt but will be treated very seriously by the disciplinary. Other than getting himself sent off what did it achieve? This isn’t about “snowflake” or “family game” etc

I would point out one thing though, if you commit an assault in everyday life and you use a headbutt that is considered the equivalent of using a weapon for sentencing purposes.

If I copped a cheap shot from the side and threw a headbutt it would be considered 'the use of reasonable force' in the event of self defence.



Anyway. Your point is null and void because this wasn't everyday life. It was during a game... A contact sport. I pray that some RL fans never make it to and Ice hockey game... I'd stay away from boxing and MMA as well, just to be sure.

One cretin keeps crying ‘assault’ on their board. I’d love to hear what he thought of Mr Flower’s punch in the 2014 GF, because a rubbish headbutt pales in comparison to smacking a bloke square in the face who’s already floored, in my humble and therefore correct opinion!

I might be being a bit thick or just don't understand how offences are graded but what is the difference between Liam Watts butt on Dom Crosby and what Westwood did.

Liam Watts was a grade C

Does the charge depend on your previous.

Going to tribunal so he'll be suspended Thursday and reviewed later.

Wigan did the same with Tautai and got him on a 3 game ban instead of 5-6.

We get Benny on a 3, and he's back for Saints away!

I started watching Rugby in the mid 70's so i know all about the "biff". Your self defence point is interesting but I can't see anyone trying to Justify Ben Westwood's actions on those grounds. The "sentencing" point was merely to highlight that use of the head is considered an aggravating factor.

I will be staying away from boxing and am amazed that it is still legal. Given the level of awareness about the effects of head injuries, how a civilised society can allow a sport that is based on inflicting blows to the head amazes me. I will also be avoiding cock fighting, bull fighting and bare knuckle fighting. I also think the fact that we no longer send young boys up chimneys is a good thing. If that makes me a snowflake in your eyes I wear that badge with pride.

No they didn't. One of these days you'll get something right.

Thought they did...but yes looked it up...took the 4 matches.

Wigan spoke about it then had a change of mind....surely? If it was someone else, I've not a clue who!!

I do enjoy seeing us line up with decent ball-playing, rugby-brained back-rowers - it separates us from the animals.



Saying that, it's pointless bringing a knife to a gun fight.



There's an obvious benefit to having players who are not afraid of putting it up 'em, especially against a team like Wigan.



The scuffle and his actions didn't cost us anything. We conceded 2 tries against 12 men when we had 13. That's what needs addressing.



So what if he cops a ban? We have deep enough cover in the forwards, and resting his old bones for a few weeks will serve him well later in the season.



Looking at total penalties conceded over the last 5 years (a rough yardstick of a player's discipline and how much their team gets penalised in games for it), and given Westwood's role in the team, is he such a liability?



1 - Liam Watts - 105

2 - Jon Wilkin - 103

3 - Paul McShane - 102

4 - Chris Hill - 98

5 - Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook - 90

6 - Danny Brough - 86

7 - Adam Milner - 85

8 - Luke Gale - 83

9 - Chris Houston - 81

10 - Danny Houghton - 77

11 - Danny Kirmond - 77

12 - Mark Minichiello - 76

13 - Liam Farrell - 76

14 - William Isa - 76

15 - James Roby - 75

16 - Jamie Jones-Buchanan - 74

17 - Ben Westwood - 74

18 - Logan Tomkins - 73

19 - Jack Hughes - 73

20 - Kruise Leeming - 71

21 - Marc Sneyd - 71

22 - Remi Casty - 70

23 - Mike McMeeken - 70

24 - Sean O'Loughlin - 70

25 - Lloyd White - 70

If you want to try and make sense of the statistics divide the penalties by number of minutes played.

The real question though was what did Westwood achieve by his headbutt? Then ask What was the best it could've achieved and what was the worst?

It achieved him being sent off. The best it could have achieved was that no one noticed it (and punishment delayed). The worst was he is sent off and it costs us the match and he gets a lengthy ban.

In no way was it worth what he did. I should add that I like Ben as a player, but he does stupid things. I would argue his stupid things are more stupid than C Hill's stupid things. Hill gets criticised, Ben gets lauded.

If Patten had not run in like a wild man nothing would have happened.