Haha, yeah that could start getting old.

I'm sorry but "absolutely dreadful" is just a silly position to take. For one thing, he's reffed in SL for ten years or so and his games have seemingly muddled along quite well, so I reckon he must get at least 95% of all the decisions passably correct.

For another, if he is "absolutely dreadful", that's odd for a man given the 2011 and 2013 CCF to ref; wouldn't they have given that to someone who earned it, or at least to someone only pretty dreadful?

I'm with Ganson's Optician. I don't think that many fans actually obsess about refs, and if they watched a game as a neutral they would find that actually the ref is doing overall a bloody good job. But most ref obsessives, like attendance obsessives, tend to congregate on forums.

I do recall though when Bentham got his broken leg, the great round of applause that the fans gave him, as he was stretchered off. To me, while we all enjoy giving stick to the officials, that incident showed better than most things that in fact, the officials in general and Bentham in particular are respected and held in high regard by the substantial majority of fans. Most of the complaints people have it seems to me would be better directed at the RFL edicts that dictate how various aspects of play in games shall be refereed, and anyway as I understand it, the coaches are in on those edicts so they get what they ask for.

I think Bentham has convinced himself a Giants player broke his leg

Perfect opportunity to call him bent and you screwed it up and threw it away.

Surprised Kevin Sinfield hasn't made most peoples lists so far.

Silverwood.

Thaler just likes the sound of his own voice too much. Not his job to be everyone's pal on the field.