Think that might be the first grade F at this level?

Either way, the RFL have just untied their hands with regards to punishment, Grade F is [iat least[/i 8 matches, but is essentially at the discretion of the panel. Could be gone for the season.

If you can bear to watch the match back it was the chasing back & tackling of Josh Charnley (which is no mean feat from a prop forward) that took a lot of juice out of Mose and caused the early substitution by Nathan Brown.

Upon getting to Old Trafford I said to my best mate (who by the way supports Wigan) "Whats the chances of a send off today, there hasn't ever been one before and its bound to happen sometime?" His reply was "No chance pal, both teams will have to be seriously disciplined" Never thought anything else about it.

Myself and my close friend have played Rugby League at a high level, not professional to a high standard. What I witnessed on Saturday was the worst I have ever seen having played the game and watching Rugby League over 20 years. Anybody who has played the game knows once you have floored an opponent with a punch you stop there. You don't then follow it up with another when a man is unconscious on the ground. Punch ups happen in our game, but that was a vicious, cowardly and disgraceful act.

I'll move on after tomorrow evening thank you !

Flower is charged with grade "F" - min 8 match ban and Hi Ho with a "B".

Having watched the slo mo's etc. LH was floored by Flower before he chased after him with his elbow charge and before the main incident.

It'll be interesting to see how the panel plays this one. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I'm not interested in perpetuating a witch hunt; I've no doubt Flower will be full of remorse and self-loathing for his moment of insanity, and I would have thought a 10-12 week ban would be about right - enough to send out a message but not over the top. But the RFL / the panel will be under a lot of pressure to come down really hard on this one since it was such a high-profile incident and since there has been so much publicity recently about the risks of concussion in the game. Apparently the incident has been front page news in Australia, and already Greg McCallum has chipped in saying it should be at least a 20-game suspension.

Too harsh a punishment and they'll be accused of playing to the galleries, too light and they'll be accused of neglecting player welfare. Striking the right balance is going to be difficult.

Agreed 10-12 is about right and keep PC plod out of it.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=938394902841628 says it all really

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=938394902841628 says it all really

When was the last time we saw a 12 match ban, though?

Realistically, that's a massive blow to him and his club for next year.

I would suggest that a 1/2 season ban would be a good harsh punishment for what has become a real stinker of an issue, without going crazy.

Sure, 12 weeks is a really long ban, and it would be fully deserved. But it's a fair way short of some of the more severe suggested punishments that are being bandied about.

What did McIlorum get for breaking Dixon's jaw? That was 8, wasn't it? >50% on top of that seems to make it a pretty hefty sentence.

You've also got to be careful - you need to set a decent precedent without making a rod for your own back.

Yes........and gives an unsurprising outcome as well.

8-12 games seems about right. There's no real justification for giving him a stiffer penalty. I don't believe he's a serial offender so I don't see how anybody could say he deserves more than what the current maximum for this type of offence is.

3 games.

Reckon Flower may get away with 7, as he missed the majority of a game already. Who knows though.

Fucks me off. I work where no one really watches RL. This morning everyone was talking about it, so once again I'm defending RL. If you've see the Wane video and his directions surely the RFL have? If THEY don't stand by Flower, I hope Flower spills the beans on all of Wanes talks and who to target/assult. If wigan don't handle this in the right way it could be a PR disaster for Wane, Wigan and RL.

You’re right though it was bad it has gone on far too long now and the aftermath is spoiling the event altogether. It was ruined on the day, but the zombies smell blood and don’t really give a sh*te about anything else. Say what you want here but it was just one man on the day, not the rest of the team, not the club, not the fans, and not the town. We spent hard earned cash too, and at least your side won the game, do you really think we are happy with him? Try to stop the zombies or the win will be the biggest none event in SL history, and that’s not fair to the real Saints fans.

There's no need for or point in a witch-hunt. He made a stupid mistake - it happens. An 8 game ban and then everyone getting on with their lives would be ample enough punishment.

Its just been on the bbc news the has text on that ben flower and Lawrence fire have both been charged by the rfl. Quality jurnos even our bad publicity is incorrect

To be fair on the BEEB 'live' text captions are often hilarious, as you've people who do not know anything about the topic trying to write subtitles simultaneous to the reporters' dialogue. It does not just affect RL.

Nah I want blood let him rot in hell





Wigan fans would want the same if it was one of our players

And that's why we berate them as we do - for not being able to rise above the hysteria and one-eyed perspective that many of them have.

We should be above that.

Well said.

www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/o ... nce-hohaia? Opinions?

www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/o ... nce-hohaia? Opinions?

It's terrible reporting. GMP are looking into it, but as yet no member of the public has complained

It's more the rush quote:



Are we putting pressure on the rfl? Why else wait?

I don't care anymore! I'm sick of hearing about it! Radio 1 never mention rugby league but all I heard today was about Ben Flower.

Let's talk about being super league champs!