What happend first half with Bentley?



Love how the commentary described Wigan's "intent" as frustration, what I saw second half was thuggery. I'm all for the game being tough and played right on the edge, but for starters, Isa should've seen red for the hit on the floor.



Let's see if the supposed conspiracy at red hall comes into play.

Ben Floweresque





No wonder people are turning away from our game, if that's what a "glamour" tie, serves up.



Dire

He didn’t like Bateman pushing is leg out of the way so decided to give a sly kick to the head, not a major one but should still cop a ban for it. No idea why Bateman got binned as well.

Biff is good, I'm all for it. Bans will inevitably follow but it livens the game up.



Thuggery, like Bentley kicking out at someone on the floor, or Isa, twice crossing the line isn't what the game needs.

Although there were quite a few unforced errors I enjoyed the game. I quite like tough defence and there was a lot of that. Some of it was the wrong side of the fine line.

If I had to pick one player that we could sign from those 2 teams it would be Morgan Knowles. He hits like a sledge hammer in defence and really rattles opposition players. It is 10 years ago that we had players that defended like that. It was only when watchng some of the wrestling in the Olympics that I really realised how much we have taken that on.

I know hitting hard might result in attackers bouncing off and carrying on but far more entertaining that watch players grappling and trying to control levers. Putting shots on doesn't half intimidate the opposition. Last night wigan were intimidated by the collision and were beaten after the first 10 mins.

Is it possible that the game will have to be further toned down in the future though regarding big hits & biff ? Football is possibly going to lose heading the ball so some of the big hits & high tackles in RL will surely have the same effect to cause brain injuries. We 'll soon be turning up to watch touch rugby.

When it comes to biff, I, like a lot of fans, am a massive hypocrite.



I love watching the fights and wish there were more. If there was a big all in brawl in a Wire v Wigan match I would talk about it for decades as a great moment for rugby league. But if I saw the same behaviour from the fans outside the pub before the game I'd be on my high horse saying they were scum and should be banned for life for disgracing the club.



I also think the way we view brawling as heroic could easily go sour if a player ended up with a serious injury. What happens if a guy gets a fractured eye socket and loses his sight in the fight, could we still class it as a legendary bit of biff?



But yes, aside from being self aware about this inconsistency, I do find RL players fighting to be good entertainment and always have.

Think we all do, and are all inwardly frustrated that those days are gone forever....

The issue with rugby players playing hard and enjoying a bit of "biff" is that it's usually a fairly equal contest it's in a controlled environment and you have the opportunity of getting your own back and then shaking hands at the end of the game and having a social. The old players that I've spoken to loved that spirit as it proved that they were hard uncompromising but in general gave as good as they got and they were SPORTS



Fans outside the pub brawling bears no comparison to ANY of that and by and large it's based on cowardice where one group outnumber the other

There's always a weird pretense from commentators that "we don't want to see that" when, in fact, everyone does. Whether they admit it or not.



When people talk about RL not being as good as it used to, I think the loss of aggression and needle is the biggest factor. Watching two sides go at each other was edge of your seat stuff. It was unmatched by any other sport.

Instead of cancelling games, they could say if you can't raise a full team each side nominate their hardest three guys available and they can fight for the points, last man standing. First half fists only then you can bring nunchucks and stuff in the second half. Doesn't need to be in the stadium they could just find an old skipyard, just make sure the cameras are there. You could sell the TV rights to a wider audience than watches rugby league.



Could allow coaches too, Brian McDermott, Karl Harrison.

This. Same with a crash in F1 (very dull if there isn't one). However, ones darker side gets reeled in when thinking of Ayrton Senna and Noel's House Party, when what was an integral part of the "show" goes mortally wrong for some individuals.