Simply, who would people say was the best performing official of the year, and worst?

For me Thaler is among the best, lets the game flow and seems to communicate well.
As for the poorest, Bentham has been pretty blind at times.

Thoughts?

Worst is Silverwood for false post-match statements accusing players of homophobic abuse

Agree with that. Bentham's been very poor for an experienced official.

Haha, yeah that could start getting old.

Don't like Silverwood but heis the best of a bad lot , Can't have Thaler , Child is still the worst along with his sidekick

Thaler is the best of a poor bunch IMO. He was brilliant in tough circumstances during our game against Leeds at the magic weekend and usually let's the games flow.

L.O.L

Or did you mean to say Thaler was brilliant for Wigan at magic weekend when he totally bottled it

I reckon we have a pretty good set of refs at the moment.
I’d say the best two are Silverwood and Thaler, but I think Thaler has come on a bunch, and so he gets my vote.

For the wooden spoon, I don’t think any of the rest are “poor”, so it would be unfair to vote for “the worst”.

Whatever happened to Halibut.

Retired after his seven tackle count incident.

I can't think of any ref that doesn't consistently produce inconsistency in their interpretations and come up with poor decisions every week.

Now in charge of referees in France

Same here. Worst set of refs in years.

Always liked Thaler for last few years, but has become far too lenient in games and loses control.

Silverwood is a joke, as is Hicks.

Think Child has improved immensely from previous, and could end up a good ref next year. Bentham was awful earlier in season, but over last few weeks been fairly impressed with him.

Personally I think Thaler is the best ref by a distance. He seems to create a good relationship with the players on the pitch.

I'd agree with Gotcha re Child. He has improved a huge amount.

My biggest problem is still inconsistency from the refs. I understand that it's incredibly quick and they have literally hundreds of decisions to make every game but it's not the one off decisions that may be right or wrong with the benefit of viewing a replay but the interpretations, both at the play the ball and whether it was stolen/knock-on.

When they're full time those interpretations should be nailed down by the refs during pre-season.
As should how the refs use their touch judges and the VR. There's too much variance on how they're used.

Welcome to the new batch of match officials.

I look forward to seeing your perfect performances in the near future.

Game management makes/breaks a ref. I think silverwood let's the game go far more and it makes a much better game.

However, he makes some right clangers and Friday was a massive example of that (not the red card btw).

Thaler is the best for me by quite some margin; good rapport with the players, maintains a sense of humour and has some bottle. Child is much improved on recent years - far less whistle happy and seems more authoritative.

Hicks and Roby still have a lot to learn.

Maybe it's that I watch the players and not the officials, or maybe I don't have such high standards. However I don't get all this criticism and I certainly don't believe that referees in the NRL are better than our lot.

Silverwood is still pretty reliable in the big games. He is also happy to explain decisions on Twitter. (when often I have incorrectly thought he got a decision wrong)

You're right in that Silverwood let's the game go and it sometimes makes for a better game. Though sometimes it can be frustrating if your team is being held down etc while Silverwood is letting the game go.

Sometimes he takes it too far.

Thaler by far.

Bentham has become far too reliant on video technology, which is disappointing.

Silverwood is inconsistent IMO. Can have a good game one week then a bit of a mare next week.

They are still the best three refs though mainly due to their experience.

Of course it can. We (saints) used that well vs Leeds the other week.

I don't mind a controlled ptb tbh. If the defender wins the tackle they have every right to slow it down IMO. Although I admit that the wrestle in Aus can be seen to be boring as hell

Thaler for me.

TOP 10 SUPER LEAGUE OFFICIALS
1. Thaler
2. Silverwood
3. Bentham
4.
5.
6.70,000 Rugby League fans
7.
8.
9. Stuart Cummins
10. Child/Hicks/Roby/Stokes

Interesting fact:
In 1000th place is Eddie and Stevo who demonstrate in every broadcast that they know Sweet Fanny Adams about the rules of Rugby League (or commentating for that matter)

I personally can't do it anytime soon as I've coaches badges to take because I was critical of Cummins earlier this season. I've also been disappointed with Adam Henry in the Bradford side so I've centre-play to master. Not to mention IS, I've been very critical of them and the governments handling of the situation, so I've a bit of training to do over in the hills of Pakistan.

But after that, and after I've done a week in a British Gas call centre, then I'll do a referees course.

As a Bradford fan, and the Bulls have had Hicks referee 10 (TEN) times in SL this year, then my vote can only go to one man; Thaler. (Who along with Child hasn't refereed a Bulls SL game all season).

Not sure who is the worst but Bentham is absolutely dreadful