Referee for the Four Nations Final

[Nezza Faz]

Regards the Penalty Try, can see what you meanabout the contact with thje guys knees, but the head tackle previously altered and delayed the ball carriers ability to dive low and early at the try line.

If you try to imagine instead of the head shot by Thurston, he had gone lower around his waist , or even the shoulder, Hall's force & lower momentum drive would easily have earnt a try in normal circumstances. So, in the opinion of the Ref (or VR) all that would be taken into account & not just the isolated action of the knee contact.

Incidentally, didn't Sam get put on report in a game for using his knees to prevent a try ?

But to sum up, yes the Aussies were better and again it was the last 10-15 mins that was Englands downfall, probably due to the intensity of games in the NRL, plus the bonus of 3 State of Origin games, which are = Test Match conditions.

[Panchitta Marra]

love to continue chat with you biased fans but I have to go to work. it is 8.20 in beautiful sunny adelaide

Hi Mary,
Lucky you,
I think that a British referee should officiate the Southern Hemisphere teams playing each other.
An Aussie Ref for the Kiwi versus British teams and a Kiwi ref for the Aussie versus British teams.
That way no one has reason to complain.

This is not a snipe at Aussie RL, but the sooner Rugby League in general is run exactly the same in the Southern & Northern Hemispheres the better.
Same rules, same number of officials in matches etc etc. Only then can International matches be seen as fair to all parties.
Did I say that Hall was kneed, if I have, I said that wrong.
What I meant was that Thurston nearly took Hall’s head off with a high tackle as he was attempting to score a Try.
I am sure if this had been Billy Slater going over for a try against Manly in the 2012 Grand Final you would see it in a different light.

[Stormfan]

Billy wouldn`t get paid the try..the ref would say he dropped the ball. We never get any favors off the refs.
I think the Poms put up a good display for 60 minutes until the Aussies kicked into gear.

[bourbon_rat]

1999 GF Ainscough v Smith = Penalty try.
The Thurston hit was a different thing since it happened before the line.But STILL a penalty.
Ian Smith,(English right ?) ruled it a penalty try - Fair enough !! You can't argue with an official

Hopefully people don't continue to argue the validity of this 'penalty try',(As a LOT of sad St George fans still do re:1999 ),it was awarded after due consideration by the video ref - case closed.

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

But to sum up, yes the Aussies were better and again it was the last 10-15 mins that was Englands downfall, probably due to the intensity of games in the NRL, plus the bonus of 3 State of Origin games, which are = Test Match conditions.[/quote]

Obviously intense games against quality opposition prepares you better for Test matches. But the main reason that the Aussies won is that they have better players and more of them.

In England, we struggle to produce a team of international quality. Why? Because of our junior structure and the influx of overseas 'hasbeens'. How can we hope to compete with the Aussies when they have such a large pool of juniors that each club is responsible for (Penrith has over 6,000), compared to our paltry numbers. You don't have to be a brain surgeon to work out that the probability of them producing a quality RL player is much higher than ours.

I think that IL has recognised this, hence his recent move to partner with Wales etc.

[TrueBlueWarrior]

Stormfan, yes Australia are better than us, yes they will continue to be better than us, probably forever, yes they deserved the win on the night and yes the referee didn't do too much wrong that effected the games outcome. However, to say the penalty try should not have been given is absolutely ridiculous. Ryan Hall would have scored a try NO DOUBT if JT had not smashed him in the face with a high shot, LL had nothing to do with the dropping of the ball he simply just followed up and smashed him in the face with 2 knees after the ball had already come free. Please don't try and argue this because if you watch the replay with BOTH EYES OPEN you will clearly see this.

[yokozuna]

The penalty try was awarded by the video ref, not by the biased Australian ref on the pitch.

There was also a ridiculous high-shot on Graham that went unpunished, and the high-shot by Thurston should have been followed by a card as it was deliberate and not a million miles from what happened to Sam this season when Raynor was red-carded.

Of course Australia were the better side, but the referee was also terrible.

[Mike]

Stormfan, yes Australia are better than us, yes they will continue to be better than us, probably forever, yes they deserved the win on the night and yes the referee didn't do too much wrong that effected the games outcome. However, to say the penalty try should not have been given is absolutely ridiculous. Ryan Hall would have scored a try NO DOUBT if JT had not smashed him in the face with a high shot, LL had nothing to do with the dropping of the ball he simply just followed up and smashed him in the face with 2 knees after the ball had already come free. Please don't try and argue this because if you watch the replay with BOTH EYES OPEN you will clearly see this.

I actually do think that the imapct of the knees did jar the ball lose, not the high tackle. I can see why a penalty try was awarded though, but i can also see why it may not have been.

On the other hand, why was thurston not sin-binned for a professional foul?

[Stormfan]

Final word on subject.
Penalty try given..didn`t decide outcome of game so no problem.