Yet again, for the umpteenth time wigan were the beneficiary of numerous poor decisions, but not even that could piggy back them to a win.

Exhibit A: A late shoulder charge making contact with the head removes saints key playmaker and kicker from the game. Ryan bailey get's a red card for the same challenge at catalans at easter, wigan player get's put on report and saints subsequently go on to miss 2 penalties.

Exhibit B: A phantom penalty is awarded to wigan which gives them the field position for the levelling drop goal. The only infringement being a push on a saints player off the ball.

Exhibit C: Wigan player bats the ball out of saints players hand as he is about to cross the line. It clearly goes forward off the wigan hand yet it was given scrum defence...have a missed something? It was a wigan knock on. The resultant field position leads to josh charnley try.

All in all wigans form seems to have dipped in the last 6 weeks, like last season their peak form occuring between easter and the magic weekend.

A bye into the CC final papers over the cracks but i think they'll win sod all this season.

A - yes, should have been a red. Consistent refereeing as usual

B - Don't remember

C - it was a great tackle from the young Wigan fb. Emphasis should be on Saints ball carrier, play on. Luckily for Saints Charnley was stopped from going the length there and then.

If that occurs on the halfway line guaranteed the ref gives a wigan knock on because he clearly bats it out.

Funny post.

For what it's worth, both of our half backs have spent weeks out this season because of late shoulder charges so we know how it feels also.

I thought a lot of the 50/50s went Saints' way (possibly a little biased), but don't really care much for the result overall.

There was a real sense of Child being intimidated by Wigan and their coach. The number of times we saw Wigan props ranting and swearing at the referee, with veins popping from their unevolved foreheads, reminded you of Wane and his ape-like antics on the touchline. Flower was particularly bad.

Well we've seen them given both ways. May as well flip a coin I guess

Super League refereeing in a nutshell.

If saints hadn't of won that it would have been s complete miscarriage of justice

A) I'm not sure about A being a red, I couldn't see contact with the head.

B) Saint player makes contact with the fullback without making any attempt at the ball. Yes Farrel was in his back. However at the other end Goulding was looking for the ball, didn't jump and then got a penalty against him (Mossop went over the line but not given), could have gone either way.

C) Agreed, if that was given against Wigan it essentially stops the full back from trying to stop the try. It's an attack to the ball but not ever a knock on against Wigan.

I'm embarrassed for you.

Whilst I don't think there is any kind of conspiracy to help Wigan, the shoulder charge was pretty much a carbon copy of the one bailey got sent off and a two match ban for. I also think Child was weak and bottled a few decisions on Wigan foul play, it was an absolute nonsense for him to give three successive penalties for foul play, and pretty obvious ones at that, then sin bin a half back for offside.

But forwards are forwards, if you let them get away with it they will keep pushing the boundaries. Can't blame the Wigan props for throwing their weight around a bit if Child didn't have the balls to make a decision

I actually thought Wellens (as usuall) was the worst for moaning at ref. Simetimes I think he belongs on a football field the amount of time he whinges at referee with his arms In the air.

Did think Taylor was lucky to avoid a red. Did anyone notice Mcllorum's "cannonball" tackle in the first half?

I'll give you C, fair play. But your comments on b are just demented.

Dudson became a liability giving away two stupid penalties and getting us on a warning, but I didn't see anyone offside, it just seemed like Childs wanted to get someone off the field!

Then of course there was the blatant ball steal that Saints got away with. And how about Wellens flopping and Saints receive a penalty! Saints were diabolical around the ruck but were rarely penalised.

All in all Childs had an awful game, but to pretend it all went in Wigan's favour is deluded.

Btw, the penalty against Dudson for hitting LMS' arm away when he was grabbing hold of him...

I've seen this happen literally hundreds of times and never seen a penalty for it, why the sudden change?

Yes the ball steal, the one blatant decision which went saints way. But how could wellens have been a flop when he wasn't even tackled? I mean seriously? Wellens was the first player to lay a hand on him, and just because he went in aggressivley (but fairly) flower lost the plot.

Do you know what a flop is?

Walmsley made the tackle, ball hit the deck, Walmsley's hand never left him. Now unless I have grossly misinterpreted the rules, the tackle was complete.

You're right, but I'd prefer they all got penalised for it rather than that Dudson didn't. Free yourself, by all means, but when you start the Hong Kong Phooey crap you're penalised.

Watch it back fella, the tackle wasn't complete.

A fan complaining about a side being hard done to when they were the beneficiaries of a sin bin decision at a crucial part of the game and numerous penalty chances to seal the match even though they win in the end anyway?

Only in rugby league!

I thought the opposite myself, at least for long periods of the game. What is that cheap 'wood chopping' tactic Dudson is using worryingly often? Looked like he wasn't going to stop until someone got a broken arm.

I was just going to mention that myself. Happens every week and never ever gets penalised.

I said early on in the game that Wigan always get more than their share of the calls, but actually as it went on I felt it was Saints getting the rub. The only really bad one I remember that went Wigans way was the so called contact with the fullback mentioned earlier. The shoulder charge was inconclusive imo, there didn't really seem to be contact with the head, the damage may well have been done when he hit his own player. It would have taken a brave man to get the red card out. It will be interesting to see what the disciplinary make of it.

Just because Saints were awarded a heap of penalties, doesn't mean they were being favoured - simply that the referee was punishing Wigan's consistent indiscipline. Saints got the rough end of the stick tonight.

The same technique used by others week in week out. If you're opposed to it so much you should complain when it doesn't get penalised rather than when it does.