Maybe Bentham is considered the top ref in Super League and the games you have had him for have been against the higher placed sides, eg Leeds, Saints and Wire and you just haven't been good enough for the majority of these fixtures.

The supposedly lower ranking refs have therefore taken charge of fixtures against your Salfords, Tigers etc... where Wigan have prevailed more often.

Bradford and Quins. Definately the top teams.

We didn't deserve to win most of those games imo, but I also don't think it's a coincedence.

Except the stats against the top 5 this year are:

v Saints 1:1
v Warrington 1:1
v Leeds 2:1
v Hull 2:0

so in our favour 6:3, of which Bentham ref'd us twice

And one of those losses was Silverwood as ref not Bentham, and 2 of our 5 total loses this season have been against 11th & 14th (ref: P Bentham)

Last year

v Saints 0:1
v Hudds 0:2
v Leeds 1:1
v Hull KR 2:1

against us 4:5, of which Mr Bentham ref'd 1:1 for us.

He hasn't ref'd us for any more games against the 'top sides' this year than last, nor more than other refs, but his numbers stand out and our win:loss against 'top' sides has actually got a lot better.

Any other theories that don't stand up to the light of day?















=#FF0000Personally I don't think it's any sort of suspicious conspiracy or bias, but I am genuinely interested as to Cummings' take on it all given the immense unlikely-hood of Bentham's stats against us over time in the context of our win ratio. P.S can Phil choose some lottery numbers for me.

I said [imaybe[/i.



How far back does this twenty odd games go?

24th Feb 2006 was his first Wigan game when we beat Hudds 36-20.

All stats from Bilko's fabulous site.

They really do make strange reading, and a lot of them are against the 'non top sides'

More so against lower teams if you look into it.

For the record our current records which each official.........

Thierry Alibert - 7 Wins 0 Losses from 7 games - 100%
James Child - 4 Wins 0 Losses from 4 games - 100%
Ben Thaler - 15 Wins 2 Draws 4 Losses from 21 games - 78%
Ian Smith - 32 Wins 1 Draw 13 Losses from 45 games - 72.2%
Richard Silverwood - 27 Wins 12 Losses from 39 games - 69.2%
Steve Ganson - 47 Wins 4 Draws 22 Losses from 73 games - 67.1%
Phil Bentham - 7 Wins 14 Losses from 21 games - 33.3%

The average success from all that is 67.8% so Bentham is way, way, way below that.

Maybe Phil is just some sort of Quantum anomaly, which is why i'd love him to give me some lottery numbers.

Thanks for all the statistics, Bilko! They prove what my original post was trying to show. It is frightening that Wigan have only won a third of the games Bentham has reffed when with all the other refs we have won at least two thirds!

Surely there must be a reason for this statistical discrepancy/anomaly.


I also wonder what Warrington's win/loss ratio is when Bentham was ref!

Bilko do you have stats on the amount of penalties he has awarded against us compared to the opposition in those losses?

Probably a bit to detailed!

Just trying to understand how it could stand out so much it doesn't look right at all..

Looking at the stats is one thing, but if you look at Bentham's PERFORMANCE during those games then it's clear something is wrong.

If we get penalties, we get them on the 1st and second tackle between "4 and 6" points on the pitch. The opposition, however, get them later on in the count nearer the wings. 50/50 decisions never go our way, and certainly in the Leeds game, he was doing us for offside and lying on, yet letting Leeds get away with them.

The above, I appreciate, simply sounds like a moan, but when you get even neutrals noticing it, then there is obviously something in it.

Another annoying trait with Bentham is the way he speaks to our players. He's very dismissive and indifferent with them, whereas he will speak at more length, and helpfully with others. Referees are meant to be 'pro-active',in that they will warn players when they're at risk of giving penalties away; with Wigan he doesn't do that. He just blows his whistle.

You will probably find that the penalty count is fairly even. What he tends to do is give the opposition penalties early doors - and, like I said in my previous post - he gives them in pressure-relieving situations for them, and pressure-creating situations for us.

Later on in the game, he will even the penalty count up with a series of, early tackle, nothing penalties.

Consider this - you get a penalty on the second tackle, in front of your own posts, 20 metres out. You can expect to get to your own 40 metre line with a touchline kick. OR, you can receive a penalty at tackle four or five, on halfway, near to one of the touchlines. This means you should then receive a further six tackles 20 metres from your opponents line, and the likelihood of gaining a score.

Guess which type of penalty we tend to get from him, and which type of penalty we rarely get from him.

Maybe you should write to the RFL and ask why he was punished in house after that game, and why it's a disgrace that he's allowed near a Wigan game ever again.

I do hope you are not trying to influence the RLF and the refs here.

The matches you lost you deserved to one way or another.

Wait for this if its true that bentham has a son that runs the line so watch out in 6 years time could be like father like son.

You clearly didn't watch the games, if you come out with such a statement.
He got an in-house reprimand after one of the games.
He allowed Ablett to stay on the field, then the disciplinary banned him for 3 games.
He sin binned Coley for nothing that was adjudged as nothing later.

If thats your definition of 'one way or another'.......well

I think you're a little confused there.

The latter 2 incidents were Ganson.

It's interesting that incidents with Ganson ( our other "bete noire"icon_wink.gif and Bentham refereeing have been confused.

Is it a coincidence that one is from Leigh, but apparently lives/works in Warrington and the other is/was a member/supporter of Saints?

Both grew up in the 80's/early 90's when Wigan dominated domestic RL. How much must they have hated that as teenagers/young men - seeing their bitter rivals win almost every trophy for 8 years? Without wanting to cast any doubts on their professionalism, competence or reliability, might their experiences 15 -20 years ago not have left some sub-conscious antipathy towards Wigan?

I don't know the answer, but the statistics with Bentham are very revealing/damning and some of our recent experiences with Ganson equally so.

He did give you an extra man for abit this time though

Didn't really have a problem with his reffin today tbh. The only thing I could say was that he should have sin binned a Hudds player earlier in the 1st when he held him down half a metre from the line. But can't complain too much, we just didn't have any composure and kept dropping the ball when we were through.

Still find it a very worrying stat though, got to be something happening somewhere.

It's blindingly obvious - Mr Bentham doesn't let you pies get away with what the other referees do!

At the very least its a bad omen if we get him in the playoffs, At the very worst we have no chance when he is reffing

The last penalty that caused the last huddersfield try was very debatable

The penalty count seemed low for 70 minutes, with only the obvious indiscretions being punished. Then bang bang 3 debatable penalties to Hudds in the last 10 minutes.

My issue is the deliberate obstruction off the ball which cost wigan a try in the 1st half without a hudds man being put in the bin.

Terrible decision and cost wigan 6 points.

Thierry Alibert - 7 Wins 0 Losses from 7 games - 100%
James Child - 4 Wins 0 Losses from 4 games - 100%


And the above two referees are obviously show outlandish favouritism to Wigan. Sack em bothe i say.

Should have taken the two as we should when Brown was binned.

NEVER turn down easy points (unless you're behind by 4 late on of course)