Did he balls instigate it! It was 6 of one, half a dozen of the other as both players were going head to head.

Lol.

Hock and LMS was 50-50. How or why Hock goes and LMS stays on the field is a mystery.

Hock didn't 'lead with the head' at all, that's complete crap - if anything, it's LMS who dips his head in first once they're standing. Don't let Hock's reputation divert from the facts.

Magennis (whoever he is) pulls Tuson away from the fight and there's a bit of shoving from both, Tuson turns and walks away and Magennis throws a punch at the back of his head. What a sh*thouse. Tuson has every right to then defend himself; not his fault he's better in a ruck and landed quite a few. Think it was Mossop who flattened Magennis in the end.

Thaler overreacted for me. 3 reds for a bit of a scrap is poor.

Spoiled a good game despite the scoreline. And how shockingly, embarrassingly poor are Saints?

I think you've mistook Hock for LMS and your @rse for your elbow.

Good decisions in my view. I'd have been happy with red for Magennis and Tuson and only yellow for Hock but still good on the ref for having the balls to send players off for unnecessary violence.

Magennis & Tuson should get a few games ban as well.

It was 50/50 at the scrum but it was hock who escalated it hence his punishment

Definitely. It was a derby game right at the end of a very hot day and players get carried away in the heat of the moment. There's nothing wrong with a couple of forwards having a scrap. RL is a physical game and sometimes things boil over and that's all part of the game. In fact it's a part that most fans seem to love.

I bet no one who plays the game thinks that the red cards were deserved and that it couldn't just have been sorted out with sending players to the sin bin.

There was a time when the game embraced the physical aspect and didn't spoil games just because a few tempers got frayed. I remember a good old brawl at Knowsley Road where everyone got stuck in and it was sorted by sending players to the sin bin.

So defending yourself after being punched in the back of the head is worth a long ban is it?

Bit of a set-to and we have 3 reds? Ridiculous. If that had happened in the past we'd have no game left, remember Scully/Faz 2002? Shocking refereering. LMS and Hock have a bit of headfighting in the scrum (not a rare thing!), theres a dust up, Magennis like a true sintelliner gets a cheap shot from behind, and gets promptly banged out - none of that should have seen a red.. A few yellows, yes.

Put it this way, Rangi Chase and Ryan McGoldrick have been sent off how many times this year? And look at how many cheap shots and shocking assaults they get away with. The game is a joke.

That's the way I saw it. Hock however tried to use the head on LMS and started the punching also. The other two deserved to go to but Mossop should have had some sort of card too. Tuson retaliated with much more than magennis gave, hence his red card for retaliation.

Tuson was hammering Magennis that's why. Magennis should get a long ban for that cowardly cheap shot.

Tuson should be sending off sufficient.

Agree with everyone else though, can't argue with Hock, except LMS should have got the same, they did the same thing.

Retaliation is and always has been viewed as worse than the original offence, agree or disagree, it don't matter because that's the way it is.

If anyone thinks that only the three red-carded will be appearing at Red Hall this week, then they're gonna be in for a surprise. That game was supposed to be the showcase climax of the whole weekend and the players involved, not the referee, were to blame for what happened and the flat atmosphere following the incident. All three red cards will receive bans, along with at least a couple of other players.

Psst LMS didn't start if Hock did when he tried to steal the head at the scrum when LMS was already set in position.

That's simply not true. It has never been viewed as worse than the original offence. All offences are generally viewed in isolation although provocation is often a mitigating factor.

As an example, Kirk Yeaman was once banned for throwing three punches at Joel Tomkins in a Wigan-Hull game, Tomkins wasn't banned for throwing three punches back.

If Hock had tried stealing the head at the scrum against some of the guys I had played with he would have been on his backside.
Hock was trying to be smart and trying to dominate LMS who wasn't having any of it.
Hock instogated it as it was him being the idiot in the scrum.

Sugar Ray Mossop should have had either a card or a knighthood. Lovely right hook that was some well deserved payback for Magennis.

As if I missed this! Hopefully they'll show it again on SL full time tonight.

this shows why biff shouldn't be red carded its part and parcel of the game. it show the character of the players lay into each other for 80mins have a little set to whistle blows for full time then shake hands and become mates again.

Years ago unless there was a 'punch- up' at the first scrum in a derby match the fans felt robbed.

Shows passion.

One of the pundits on SKY, I think it was Carney said it was just frontrowers having a bit of a set too. Nothing to get worried about.

Hocks a second rower isn't he ?

Madness to send 3 players off. Just a sinbin for each team would have been fine. Cool things down. 3 red cards is just daft really. How can you pick out 3 players from a brawl like that?

Well in this case it's easy. You pick out the two Wigan players and the one saints player throwing punches like maniacs.



I don't think Louis actually did anything other than not let hock get the outside head.


Hock had him in a bloody single collar tie, or dirty boxing clinch at first when he let fly with several uppercuts

Hock & LMS yellow cards - 6 + 6. Magennis red + long ban. Tuson, red, sending off sufficient. Mossop, a pat on the back & free drinks all night.

I cant believe that there are some the don't like a punch up in a derby game?

This is RL, it is part and parcel of the game.

I don't "get" people who don't like the rough stuff. It all adds to the spectacle. If it had been a SOO game it would have been lauded as business as usual.

I also don't get why people act so spitefully toward Hock?. Its a game people, we all need a panto villain.

Its all part of the fun of the fair. Stop being so bloody soft

should have been all yellow apart from
Magennis, this is RL for Christ sake.

the way i see it is lms and hock bit niggly head to head, then hock throws punches, i didnt see lms throw a punch..im under the opinion that thaler has sent the players off who have threw a few, i feel if lms had thrown punches he would be in the bin aswell.

you could argue he gave red cards instead of yellows as he didnt want to risk it boiling over again when they all came back on, which to be honest would be likely.

overall i thought thaler had a good game, and it was a cracking bit of biff aswell