FRIDAY 2ND OCTOBER
engage Super League XIV Play Offs
Leeds Rhinos v Catalans Dragons 8pm (SKY)
Ref R Silverwood TJ C Sharrad TJ R Cowling VR P Bentham RR T Alibert RTJ W Turley MC G Kershaw

SATURDAY 3RD OCTOBER
engage Super League XIV Play Offs
St Helens v Wigan Warriors 5.30pm (SKY)
Ref S Ganson TJ T Martin TJ R Hicks VR I Smith RR B Thaler RTJ M Thomason MC D Campbell

Lets hope Wigan smash them all over the place.

It was going to be a fiery and entertaining clash anyway, but this is truly going to be the icing on the cake.

Best you can hope for, now the result becomes a foregone conclusion.

You reckon?

Leeds/Catalans v Saints final it is then

If he refs it anything like the way he did in the Saints-Hull Cup final then without a doubt.

Soon as that game started to get close the whole way it was being refereed changed completely.

He may not be doing it conciously, but when Ganson refs Saints he refs them like a fan rather than a match official IMO.

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/8016639.stmThe only time Ganson has refereed a Wigan v Stains game[/url

I knew I had an example but couldn't be bothered looking for it.

Pah! What evor! If anything he is harsh against St helens to cover himself against childish allegations like this one.

Ganson is the best referee in Super League. If he polices the play the ball Saints superior ability should see them home.

If not, Wigan's luck will enable them to scrape a win.

Either way you lot are enormous favourites for 3 in a row.

St Helens SL encounters with Ganson in charge:

20-Jun-08 ….. SL 13-18 ….. Leeds 12 ….. St Helens 26 ….. Steve Ganson
17-Aug-08 ….. SL 13-25 ….. Harlequins 16 ….. St Helens 32 ….. Steve Ganson
02-May-09 ….. SL 14-12 ….. St Helens (N) 18 ….. Wigan (N) 38 ….. Steve Ganson
22-May-09 ….. SL 14-14 ….. St Helens 22 ….. Harlequins 12 ….. Steve Ganson
16-Aug-09 ….. SL 14-24 ….. Hull KR 26 ….. St Helens 10 ….. Steve Ganson

All those are regular round fixtures as this is a first for St Helens with Ganson in the SL Play Offs.




And that isn't an issue for you or the RFL?

I'd have thought a referee being harsh against either team would be a big fail.

If he referees the game in a way that best suits Saints you should be ok then?

QED.

WOuld this rule him out of the GF though?

You very rarely get a ref doing the same team two weeks running

Well if Ganson or Silverwood don't get the Grand Final you'd have to think it would go to Phil Bentham.

Unless they fancy doing something a little different and using an Aussie ref? Would they be fit enough to still cover both halves of a pitch, the lazy slackers?

He got the CC final so unlikely to get the final - Bentham?

No.

Precedents were set in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 for the same referee to get the FE and the GF.

Either Silverwood or Ganson will get the GF so both will need to be on their best behaviour. No more asking if the kicker was onside or imaginary offences by the team in possession.

Maybe I have missed something, but where's Ben Thaler? Haven't seen him reffing anything for a while x

He did the St Helens surprise home loss to Les Catalans in Round 27.

I doubt we'll see him again at this level for a while after that.

According to the bleating on The Entertainers this is good news for Leeds as Silverwood is a well known Leeds fan and home banker.

Oh the irony...

Saints fans are smack heads. FACT. End of!

By bleating, you mean that one fan who has mentioned it? Christ, if I was to take just one Leeds' fan's views as that of Leeds fans as a whole, there would be trouble. Especially if I chose Damo.

Richard Silverwood with Leeds: All Comps

W =redL W W W W W W W W W W =redL W W W W W W W W=red L W=red L L L L L L W=red L W=red L W W W W W W

Played 39, Won 28, Drawn 0, Lost 11, 72%

Richard Silverwood with Leeds: Headingley All Comps

W W W W W W W W W W =redL W =redL L L W =redL W W W

Played 20, Won 15, Drawn 0, Lost 5, 75%

I don't really think Mr Ganson will show any bias, but I do think the RFL make life hard for themselves when they do this sort of thing. If you don't put a home-town ref in the game, nobody can accuse a home-town ref of influencing the outcome (whether such accusations are justified or not) and you avoid controversy.

I tend to agree with that. It would have harmed no-one to swap the refs around.

I've long since held the view that the RFL do this kind of thing deliberately to court controversy. It clearly doesn't work though.