Flower

[Nezza Faz]

Flower cost us the match. No two ways about it.

He's pro player and he will rightly be looking for the ground to swallow him up.

No excuse for the second punch at all which is the one that meant he had to go.

You can't play for 78 mins and expect to win and the fact we kept them to 14 shows they were there for the taking.

Until Flower through that punch. What a way to lose a final to Saints, hand it too them in plate.

Not much else to say other than that.

Agree with that. Any professional sport has to adhere to rules and discipline, or then it's a free for all, and you let the lions out of the cage. Not the first time he's been sent off either.

If he doesn't throw himself down to punch his face on the ground, then maybe a Yellow which we could have coped with. Over the years I've always been taught you leave the referee to make the decision, not to take events into your own hand and play with controlled aggression. Can't imagine SOL resorting to this - has the brains to understand the consequence of his action. Most other players as well. The NRL is tough, but never seen anything like that all season. And in a GF for good measure.

RL is not meant to be played for 78 mins 12 v 13, any decent pro would know that and not let his team mates down.

[Wigan_forever1985]

Flower left the stadium before the match was finished to be consoled by his father, but Wane said he would rejoin the Wigan players later in the night.

He found himself trending on Twitter and even the subject of a tweet from Barrow police warning Saturday night revellers that they would be “banged up” if there was any repeat of his behaviour – although nobody involved in the game showed any inclination of taking up the initial clamour that he should face criminal charges.

“I think he’s served a fair punishment, hasn’t he?” said the St Helens coach Nathan Brown, whose team finally capitalised on their extra man to secure a 14-6 win and claim their first Super League title since 2006. “He got what he deserved and will be thinking ‘I cost my side a grand final’. That’s harsh, but deserved.”

[cpwigan]

Flower cost us the match. No two ways about it.

He's pro player and he will rightly be looking for the ground to swallow him up.

No excuse for the second punch at all which is the one that meant he had to go.

You can't play for 78 mins and expect to win and the fact we kept them to 14 shows they were there for the taking.

Until Flower through that punch. What a way to lose a final to Saints, hand it too them in plate.

Not much else to say other than that.

Agree with that. Any professional sport has to adhere to rules and discipline, or then it's a free for all, and you let the lions out of the cage. Not the first time he's been sent off either.

If he doesn't throw himself down to punch his face on the ground, then maybe a Yellow which we could have coped with. Over the years I've always been taught you leave the referee to make the decision, not to take events into your own hand and play with controlled aggression. Can't imagine SOL resorting to this - has the brains to understand the consequence of his action. Most other players as well. The NRL is tough, but never seen anything like that all season. And in a GF for good measure.

RL is not meant to be played for 78 mins 12 v 13, any decent pro would know that and not let his team mates down.

There are no consistent rules in RL. If so, can you explain how a player was punched 4 times the previous week and his assailant not dismissed. Officiating in RL is dire, at its worst for some time.

[Nezza Faz]

Not much else to say other than that.

Agree with that. Any professional sport has to adhere to rules and discipline, or then it's a free for all, and you let the lions out of the cage. Not the first time he's been sent off either.

If he doesn't throw himself down to punch his face on the ground, then maybe a Yellow which we could have coped with. Over the years I've always been taught you leave the referee to make the decision, not to take events into your own hand and play with controlled aggression. Can't imagine SOL resorting to this - has the brains to understand the consequence of his action. Most other players as well. The NRL is tough, but never seen anything like that all season. And in a GF for good measure.

RL is not meant to be played for 78 mins 12 v 13, any decent pro would know that and not let his team mates down.

There are no consistent rules in RL. If so, can you explain how a player was punched 4 times the previous week and his assailant not dismissed. Officiating in RL is dire, at its worst for some time.

Sorry CP just got back and not read all the posts on Ben Flower - which player are you referring to here ?

[cpwigan]

Paul Wood on Eddy

[Nezza Faz]

Paul Wood on Eddy

As I posted, it's up to the officials and Paul Wood was later suspended by the RFL Disciplinary for, I think, three matches for his attack?

I know the retrospective punishment is not everyone's cup of tea, but we've no alternative. Other Sports also have this reckoning. If Eddy had retaliated that night and laid out Wood, he also would have copped a ban but using his discipline/control was found "not guilty".

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

It is impossible to defend Benny Flower's actions, he has paid a heavy price but unfortunately his mates have paid a bigger price.

[DaveO]

It is impossible to defend Benny Flower's actions, he has paid a heavy price but unfortunately his mates have paid a bigger price.

It's not just his mates. It's the club and the fans.

[curryman]

Apparently Ben Flower has been arrested as he was getting on the team coach.... From a good rugby source... No idea if true, but the source is normally bob on

According to The Guardian, a devastated Ben Flower left the stadium before the match was finished to be consoled by his father.

He didn't get on the team coach.

[curryman]

Apparently Ben Flower has been arrested as he was getting on the team coach.... From a good rugby source... No idea if true, but the source is normally bob on

According to The Guardian, a devastated Ben Flower left the stadium before the match was finished to be consoled by his father.

He didn't get on the team coach.

Flower deserved the red card, by the way. He is a professional sportsman and one of the first things you are coached is not to retaliate.

However, Hohaia escaped with no punishment for his foul play and Wellens also assaulted Flower and received no punishment. (In fact he was praised at the end of the match for being a great sport).

Yet in the September game with Warrington, the same referee sin binned two players involved in a fight.

So where is the consistency?

That was the question throughout the Grand Final and is always the question when witnessing Bentham's absurd and inconsistent refereeing interpretations. Inconsistency, giving the impression of making up the rules as he goes along.

Sky Sports call this style of officiating, "brilliant" and "outstanding". These are not words I would use to describe it.

Bentham ruined last night's Grand Final. In 2013 GF, Ben Westwood assaulted Blake Green in the early minutes and the incident was placed on report. This is what happens in finals. There has to be some sense and there should be some consideration shown for the fans. Last night, I met people who had paid a lot of money to travel from Anglesey, the Isle of Man, London and beyond to see this game and their whole day was ruined by the referee's second minute decision.

However, having said all that, even with 12 men Wigan had enough chances to win the contest. They made too many basic errors at key moments. The most glaring of these was when Bowen had a three man overlap with the line at his mercy and he decided to pass inside to Bateman instead. Bateman was not expecting the pass and knocked on. Someone else on here has counted five missed try scoring opportunities by Wigan during the game. That is far too many in a major final.

Oh well. You can't win them all. We will be stronger next season for the experience. Bring it on.