https://www.superleague.co.uk/articl...e-appointments
Clint Sharrard and Marcus Griffiths to TJ
Thaler is Video referee
https://www.superleague.co.uk/articl...e-appointments
Clint Sharrard and Marcus Griffiths to TJ
Thaler is Video referee
Absolutely spot on appointment.
Robert Hicks in the sky studio???
Can't stop the spirits when they need you.
This life is more than just a read through.
The only ref to keep the game flowing this season much better than last year, if he doesn't follow any "RFL Instruction" then we should get a fast open game. Has McManus invited him to tea + biscuits tomorrow.
I'll settle for that, let the night be about the players and a great game.
Many of us on here said we wanted him, just hope he does our faith justice. Based on his performances this year he deserves this appointment
Does anyone know of his local, I'm going to stick £100 behind the bar for him.
Deservedly so, he has been the best referee all year.
So has neither team's fans had a run in with him on social media in the build up to the game? If they had, they could do some PR and media with the club involved just before the show piece event...or would that put the referee in a strange position where his decision making could be called into question.? Hmmmmm??
Also if he waves the tackle count, perhaps stick with it!!
As I have said on many occasions best whistle blower by a mile , at least we will be able to play rugby . No edge with this bloke well deserved , 2 good teams who play the game honestly, looking forward to the game .
roy litherland it's happened i told you it would
Perhaps the fact that he was a player helps him to do a decent job as a ref. He knows the game from both perspectives and lets the game flow. Hope I haven’t jinxed him now!
Sat on the table next to him in Nando's a couple of years ago , he was with his crew linesmen ect , didn't know who he was at first but he wasn't half giving instructions out how he wanted the game to be controlled , jeez I nearly choked on me chicken .
Never a chance Hicks was going ref
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RFL Championship / Super League (17) - 1931–32, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Challenge Cup (13) - 1955–56, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2021
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League Leader's Shield (9) - 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
I've always said the players have a greater impact on the flow of the game than the ref, if they don't cheat there's less to blow for
Lots of criticism of Hicks allowing Wire to lie on in the CC final, had he blown would he be critisied for not letting the game flow? I suspect he would
We all want to see a flowing game, the refs I suspect are happier with it flowing, they get less grief but it often depends on how the players approach it
I think being an x player does have its advantages but more around the respect of fans than actually knowing the rules any more than anyone else
Could well have caused a riot if he ( Hicks) gave us the same treatment as of that at Wembley ! Clearly the RFL are able to think rationally !
Absolutely made up super blue , guarantees us 20 points no question ! Why not put your mortgage on a saints win ?? Or your caravan if you live on the same estate as Big Josh!!!
Enjoy your Saturday in the Ale house shouting at the TV . All the best dude for next year
Whats more likely to disrupt the flow of a game, a referee who may blow his whistle a few times to establish what he will accept, such as how long you can slow the ruck down, keeping players onside and other decisions or allowing players to lie on in the tackle and actively slow play down, the less thats called the more they will try to get away with. If a referee will not police the game to try and keep it flowing certain teams will do what they can to disrupt the flow of the game to use it to their advantage.
I personally do not see how a referee blowing his whistle as a bad thing as long as it has the effect of speeding the game up and letting it flow, stop teams slowing the ruck down the pace improves and so does the flow of it. As for being an ex-player i think its more about knowing what players are trying to do, where are they trying to gain an advantage.
Yes agree an x player has an additional piece of experience to call upon an dthere fore hopefully better placed to spot a player trying it on, in reality I think it's a small advantage
If blowing the whistle early means players don't lie on it's great but I believe it doesn't always work. If penalties are up for grabs the ball carrier plays up more and starts appealing for a penalty getting the crowd worked up also, the ruck can become more of a mess.
The ruck is often slow due to holding up rather than lying on, so the game play can be slow anyway. For me you speed the game by shouting held quicker when holding up, and allow a couple of seconds holding down if there's a good tackle, therefore keeping the ruck clean. This should see a quicker game with less penalties and tidy ruck, that would be the wish list anyway
So your point "I don't see the ref blowing his whistle is a bad thing if it speeds the rook and flow of the game" I'm not convinced works
Allowing a couple of seconds of lying on for a good tackle is fine in theory, i think that happens anyway when the ref yells dominant, but there are enough times when players make a tackle and just dont get of the tackled player with any speed, there has been several games this year where sides have turned up with the tactic of slowing the play the ball down so much it kills the flow of the game.
I wouldn’t mind them speeding up play by limiting holding the ball carrier up, but where do you stop it, quite a lot of the time the attacking player is still moving forward, as soon as they stop moving do you call held or do you reward the defence for stopping the attacker from going to ground?
Once again if the referee establishes what they will and wont accept early in the game, and does it consistently, then the players can react accordingly and in theory the quality of the game should improve, otherwise the more you let players get away with the more they will try to get away with.
I understand your point and agree to an extent.
Yes it's difficult to manage the holding up. Lying on should be easier to manage.
I theory stamping your authority early should set the tempo but as I say imo blowing to much to early encourages messing around at the ruck and kills the flow of the game. Refs often allow a little more early on so they don't set a precedent that sees them blow all the game so it actually kills the flow and doesn't imporove it.
Yes all teams want to slow the attacking team down, o different now to last year the year before that etc. Play the ball quick when we have the ball and slow the opposition down is the game plan of every team, it's nothing new
But back to my original point, there's a contradiction to stopping lying on by blowing the whistle and allowing the game to flow by not blowing your whistle, it cannot be both