I seem to remember we did not get awarded the penalty in the wakefield game. Correct me if im wrong.

It's a confusing one. I expected a penalty to saints for a strip. Wheeler was short of the line either way so couldn't have been a penalty try.



I can only assume that it must be legal for the defenders to knock the ball out regardless of how many men are involved in the tackle when it's in the act of scoring a try, That's the only situation I can think of to warrant the drop out being awarded. Otherwise it should have been a scrum to Wigan for a knock on... or a penalty to saints for a 2 on 1 strip. Had it been just stripped one on one then Tommy grounded then the drop out would have been right. hmmm can anyone clarify if thats the actual rule?

Wakefield got a scrum (or 20 metre tap, can't remember) because the VR adjudged that Richards knocked on.



You cannot strip the ball with 2 defenders in the tackle - it doesn't matter where on the pitch it is.



The rule was changed so a penalty try could not be given if the ball was stripped illegally in the act of scoring a try. Now if it is stripped illegally, it's just a penalty.

I think you are right Wigg'n.



Perhaps it was judged that Tommy had stripped it as opposed to a saints knock on, as in the quite frankly farcical occasions where the defending team is judged to have knocked on if the ball goes the opposite way.



Either way, it is clearly an area where the rules need clearing up as there seem to be far too many grey areas.

I was listening to the VR and his ruling was as follows:



The drop-out was for Tommy grounding the ball after Wheeler lost it.



The reason that Wheeler lost it was that the ball was knocked out in the tackle - NOT that the ball was stripped in the tackle.



The difference being that if our player had deliberately struck the ball, it wouldd be stripping, but as he simply hit the ball during the act of making a tackle, it is legal.



Exactly the same as Pat's disallowed one at Wakefield a while back - Read "loose carry".

i agree knocked out in a loose carry not stripped

But surely had it been a 'loose carry', it would have been deemed a knock on and scrum to Wigan?

but it was knocked out and backwards by farrell and then grounded by leuluai.

But it was knocked forwards by the Saints player meaning they knocked on if the ball was simply lost in the tackle due to a loose carry.

But the ball went forward from Wheelers perspective. So I think the question still stands as to why that wasn't a knock on.



Is having the ball knocked out in the tackle considered different to losing control of it?



You occasionally see a crunching tackle result in the attacker dropping the ball and so a knock on is given. The only reason I can think of why Wheeler wasn't considered to have knocked on was due to the way the ball came out i.e. it was knocked out as opposed to him dropping it.



Having watched the play again it looks like Farrell deliberately punches the ball out so if the video ref thought it was just the result of the ball being hit in the tackle I reckon we were lucky to get away with it.

IMO there are two ways this could have gone. It could have been a penalty to them for us knocking the ball out with more than one in the tackle. He wasn't in the process of scoring IMO as the ball carrying arm would have been at least a foot away from the try line, his arm was underneath him and his momentum had stopped. He would have been short of the line. Or, it could have been a scrum to us for him knocking on due to a loose carry and the ball coming loose in the process of being tackled. Either way, it definitely was not a goal line drop out.

No, the ball was knocked out of his grasp (legally) by Hughes, and travels towards our line, so it's still play-on at that point, until Tommy grounds it.