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The Dupree one is a poor decision from the panel for me. They say he is 'bracing for contact' but that contact was an elbow direct to the tackler and I thought it was very dangerous. If a tackler can be found to be reckless then so can a ball carrier and raising your elbow like that and getting it wrong is just as bad as high contact in a tackle (even if intent was not there). Seems like a different standard is set depending on whether you are carrying the ball or not - which for me is wrong.

Drink driving and assaulting a police officer, stupid lad. Giants have reacted well to it.

So, does anyone think we've missed the boat on Samoa?

If it's of interest, Giants recently became the first Super League club to host a community iftar. https://www.rugby-league.com/article/62605/huddersfield-giants-host-community-iftar-to-mark-ramadan#:~:text=Huddersfield Giants last night (Tuesday,Muslim holy month of Ramadan. I was invited along as chair of the HGSA but unfortunately work commitments meant I couldn't make it. We have a huge Muslim/Asian community in and around Huddersfield and across Kirklees, we recently ran an initiative led by new director Jas Atwal and Masood Ahmed, where a free bus was on hand to take anyone from the Asian community to the game against St Helens as guests of the club, the take up wasn't that great but the club are looking at trying to find ways to get into and draw support from local communities.

I do think the disciplinary are leaving themselves exposed to criticism at the moment. One of the issues I've had for a long time is that it is not unusual for them to have these instances where when anything is slightly away from the norm they struggle. I'm thinking things like the Morgan Knowles case for Saints, and things like this one from Dupree. Broadly speaking most things are fine and whilst some may think harsh, I'm supportive of the move to punish foul play in the interests of player welfare. However, they do seem to undermine their own efforts with cases like this where they almost go to great lengths to mitigate the players' actions. And I think it was absolutely classless for them to do what they did with Harry Smith earlier in the year. The Dupree incident being deemed to be broadly fine just doesn't pass the sniff test. It was very dangerous imo and really should have seen a ban in the interests of player welfare.

A great team effort overall I thought. All the forwards did really well but Owen and Adam were standout for me. Joe and JT seem to be finally showing their dominance. I also thought Ellis had his best game in an Oldham shirt. Also, special mention to our three young guns from last year. Kian was exceptional and Paga is having an impact from the bench in every game (and his discipline seems improved). George looked immense when he came on and looks fitter and faster. Perhaps these three are benefiting from the experience around them. All in all, a very accomplished performance and a great atmosphere with a large crowd full of young supporters from all our local amateur clubs. Fantastic to see.

Was he chasing deer in Richmond Park?

The Cam Smith one bemuses me. Is it even a penalty? There must be more to it than that. Dupree was sin binned at the time, and the first contact was with Lee’s chest. He is entitled to argue that he intended to hit the chest, which is not illegal, and was unfortunate that Lee’s angle of attack (after Lee had injured one of his team mates, incidentally, in a wild tackle the play before) lead to it slipping upwards. Anyone on here can of course argue that he intended to hit Lee in the head, but unless they have similar powers to those women in the tanks in that Tom Cruise sci fi movie then they are simply making things up to suit an opinion. I also believe the Byrne sending off was very harsh, and not just because it was a Wigan player - Percival’s head was at the same level as the middle of his chest, and he ran straight at him. Indeed, I have printed off the league tables from the BBC, and amended them to show the correct result, a Wigan victory (10-2, with Byrne thundering over at the end).

Has Dupree not been completely vindicated by the disciplinary panel then?

I'd have been very surprised if it had been. A penalty would have been a very bad decision, but not unprecedented given that the ref is having to make split second decisions in a fast moving game. For the disciplinary panel to study it and see a problem is quite simply staggering.

Seemingly we must have been in the same team of Essex Scimitars..I too played in that game at Crystal Palace, my short lived RL career, thinking i was doing alright, as i was smashed by a ex pro from papua new guinea..thatll teach me...I'm currently reminiscing as I've hit 50 now btw. I turned up on a whim as a 10 stone, wet, whippet never having played anything like rugby before, god knows why and what I was thinking...I remember lots of the essex guys..Keith tuscon, ian waldren, beaky, Lee tuscon, Neil, duan booth, ian winstanley, all coached by John threadgold..as I look back I was really looked after, taught everything and coached, mentored and helped by the lads, before I'd even played a game, for weeks, taught how to catch, pass, tackle etc, never did say thanks, so thanks btw, i truly mean that, I went onto play rugby union I think pretty succesfully for many local sides and the grounding and skills I always said came from this couple of seasons.. I wasn't allowed to play at the start, as I was protected by John, who said I wasn't up to it, being 17 and all skin and bone, we were short one week, scored 2 tries, then was in the team as winger every week..I also remember Jason an aussie also very light, and mobile and toughest player I ever played with...not sure if you'll read thos post, but was an interesting read... I still have my rasta training top, I remember the london vase semi too... There were some incredible players at that time

Congratulations forum members, with the Best Game You Have Been To thread now with 85 posts and Worst Game You Have Been To thread having only 82, this forum is now in Positivity status. It will never last

Really struggling with the Dupree one. So it's ok to raise a forearm / elbow with the arm not carrying the ball, and hit a defender with it, just as long as you don't hit him in the head? It's as if the game is trying to legislate for every specific action, and cannot just adjudge something to be serious foul play

Cheers AoHaF, but do you really think I want to see it all twice (or close up even) I had my head in a paper bag until this morning and my therapist has advised I dont leave the house for at least three more days. Id rather watch emmerdale farm box sets in swedish than see that again.

The Mad Squirrels from the Czech Republic to join the Balkan Super League to further their development. This adds a new country to the league too:

Cam Smith gets a one match ban for a innocuous nudge on Cas player, Sangare a one match ban for an accidental head clash but Dupree gets away with elbow into matty Lees face. Unbelievable.

https://www.giantsrl.com/article/8806/club-statement-|-fenton-rogers Good to see them suspending him immediately, right thing to do in my opinion, no matter how talented someone is it doesn't excuse bad behaviour and doing stuff like that. If he's found guilty i presume he will be sacked and rightly so for me. Silly boy!

Well done Huddersfield for taking decisive and appropriate action. It really is what clubs should be doing in such circumstances.

Approx 10000 pre sales for Leigh v Wigan on Thursday.

Kameron Siddique, came through the scholarship at Huddersfield

tHe gAmEs gOnE !!!

Lectures from Haven fans how ironic.

I’ve made another list about the best wonderkids/youngsters in the rugby league world. This time it’s 2004+ though and a lot better than my last list. Also this list mainly based on how much potential I think a player has. Not just there current ability. CE/SR NQ Cowboys 50.Jamal Shibasaki 2005 HB Brisbane Broncos 49.Coby Black 2005 CE Sydney Roosters 48.Robert Toia 2004 SR Gold Coast Titans 47.Arama Hau 2004 CE St George Dragons 46.Savelio Tamale 2004 HK Wakefield Trinity 45.Harvey Smith 2004 LK Sydney Roosters 44.Blake Steep 2005 PR St Helens 43.Noah Stephens 2004 LK/SR Sydney Roosters 42.Salesi Foketi 2004 PR Gold Coast Titans 41.Josiah Pahulu 2004 HB Wigan Warriors 40.Jack Farrimond 2005 SR Penrith Panthers 39.Harrison Hassett 2004 PR Warrington Wolves 38.Lucas Green 2004 CE Wests Tigers 37.Josh Feledy 2004 HB Hull FC 36.Jack Charles 2006 WG/CE Warrington Wolves 35.Aaron Lindop 2006 SR Hull FC 34.Nick Staveley 2004 SR New Zealand Warriors 33.Demitic Sifakula 2004 FB Castleford Tigers 32.Fletcher Rooney 2006 CE/SR Catalans Dragons 31.Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet 2005 FB Huddersfield Giants 30.George Flanagan Jr 2005 CE/SR St Helens 29.Jonny Vaughan 2005 FB Canterbury Bulldogs 28.Joash Papali’i 2004 FB Newcastle Knights 27.Fletcher Sharpe 2004 CE Penrith Panthers 26.Jesse McLean 2005 HB Parramatta Eels 25.Ethan Sanders 2004 / SR New Zealand Warriors 24.Jacob Laban 2005 SR Wests Tigers 23.Samu Fainu 2004 WG Castleford Tigers 22.Jason Qareqare 2004 WG Hull FC 21.Lewis Martin 2004 FB Canberra Raiders 20.Chevy Stewart 2005 HK Wests Tigers 19.Tallyn Da Silva 2005 FB/5/8 South Sydney Rabbitohs 18.Jye Gray 2004 5/8 Leeds Rhinos 17.Jack Sinfield 2004 FB Leeds Rhinos 16.Alfie Edgell 2004 SR Warrington Wolves 15.Adam Holroyd 2004 5/8 Warrington Wolves 14.Leon Hayes 2004 5/8/FB Parramatta Eels 13.Blaize Talagi 2004 HK Brisbane Broncos 12.Blake Mozer 2004 CE Penrith Panthers 11.Paul Alamoti 2004 WG South Sydney Rabbitohs 10.Tyrone Munro 2004 / 5/8 Wests Tigers 9.Latu Fainu 2005 PR Brisbane Broncoa 8.Benjamin Te Kura 2004 SR Wigan Warriors 7.Junior Nsemba 2004 5/8/LK Canterbury Bulldogs 6.Karl Oloapu 2005 / 5/8 Dolphins 5.Isaiya Katoa 2004 5/8 Canberra Raiders 4.Ethan Strange 2004 PR St Helens 3.George Delaney 2004 5/8 Wests Tigers 2.Lachlan Galvin 2005 FB Gold Coast Titans 1.Keano Kini 2004 Honourable Mentions: Benaiah Ioelu 2004 HK Sydney Roosters Enzo Griffier 2004 CE/FB Sydney Roosters Neil Tchamambe 2005 CE/WG Hull KR Louix Gorman 2005 CE/FB Hull KR Michael Gabreal 2005 CE Cronulla Sharks Kai Morgan 2005 HB Salford Finlary Glare 2004* HK PNG Hunters Nolan Lopez-Buttignol 2004 HK Carcassonne Tanner Stowers-Smith 2004 PR New Zealand Warriors Lehi Hopoate 2005 CE Manly Sea Eagles Kit Laulilii 2005 LK Wests Tigers Leka Halasima 2005 SR New Zealand Warriors Max Wood 2004 LK/PR Warrington Wolves Dayon Sambou 2005 CE St Helens Charlie Guymer 2004 SR Parramatta Eels Clement Martin 2005 WG Lezignan Ryan Jackson 2004 PR Dolphins Sio Kali 2005 / WG/CE New Zealand Warriors Ned McCormack 2005 CE Leeds Rhinos Maxime Rostang 2005 HB Avignon Baptiste Pourchi 2005 WG/CE Avignon Logan Moy 2005 FB Hull FC

To miss one boat is unfortunate, two miss more than one looks like carelessness………..to paraphrase Oscar Wilde……..

You do realise that back in 2018 the RFL central funding being was c150-175k. Following the cuts in 2021/22 Hornets receive c18-20k. Who do you think is keeping the club alive and funding shortfalls to get a competitive side on the pitch for us to watch? I wouldn't imagine experienced players like Gregg McNally and Martyn Ridyard play for nothing. Maybe one day you may post something positive on this forum, but I wont hold my breath.

IMG's standards quote a 5000 capacity. Not ideal, obviously, but it meets the standards at the moment

You know this is a discussion forum, right?

I'm loath to continue the off topic detour, but Hungarians aren't Slavs.

Accomplished goalkicker and can really unsettle defences. Nice lad too

I think it is ok to disagree with the decisions laid down by the panel, they are subjective after all (implying or stating corruption/bent is where the issue is). Dupree deserves a ban and Smith shouldn’t even be a charge – that’s my take anyway.

The only thing I can think on this one is that Smith had 4 cases on the disciplinary notes last year for late tackles. I think he was only charged and punished for one of them, but I wonder whether he had been receiving warning letters for the others. Maybe they are making a point.

The Dupree decision is a shocker. But so is the Smith one... Horrendous.

Went to Tamworth on Saturday to do Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun. Lovely park, but I really struggled on lap one. I never know when these bad weeks are going to come. I walked for a bit then managed to run lap two and felt OK at the end. That's 132 venues and 370 total now. Someone just did their 1000th parkrun as a volunteer (this includes junior parkruns). Not keen on the yellow colour they've used for the T-shirt. Still, if I live long enough to reach 1000 parkruns (I'll be in my eighties) I'll be happy enough! Edit: Tamworth Castle is worth a visit too.

For reference this is the Cam Smith incident which wasn’t even a penalty in game. It’s a ridiculously soft 1 match ban

the World series with the Eurpoean participant are 2025, in 2024 there will be a 4N as there are only 4 IRL members remaining - and only they will be allowed to qualify

All we want is consistency!

Not much else can be said re Dupree getting away with that one, raising the elbow in that fashion is full of intent and both despicable and cowardly, as I said on the match thread even when the sport was full of "dirty" incidents a few years ago that was the most despised of actions, Dupree would not have had to wait for the ref to give a judgement to leave the field, teammates of the player offended would have taken steps to make sure he left very quickly and quite rightly so. I just don't understand the disciplinary committee, they are giving out suspensions for what is accidental occurrences, yet seemingly condoning a very deliberate action of intent by the attacking player raising and leading with the elbow going into a tackle, not much of deterrent to stop players doing that, carry on lads its OK. If that action was performed by the tackler what would happen then, and what would be the difference?

It can be frustrating watching KPP and Newcastle in attack. I think he has run 100 lines in the "red zone" and actually got a pass once in the last few weeks. They use him well coming out of their half, but as soon as they get in that last 10m they don't seem to want to utilise his offloading game whatsoever. Especially seeing how much they pass it to Frizzell on the other side of the field in comparison. Glad to hear Gamble has been dropped and Hastings is in, I think Gamble and Cogger collectively put in 1 good kick in the last 2 weeks, all while Hastings was in NSW cup.

With the Dupree incident maybe they felt bad because Matty Lees should have been sent off in the tackle before that which was totally missed by onfield and video refs. As I put in the Saints V Wigan thread that was a huge turning point of the game. Instead of Saints been down to 12 men for the rest of the game, Wigan were reduced to 12 the very next tackle and also lost Thompson because of the Lees tackle. A real double whammy and worrying that not only was the incident missed it took some minutes before the people watching the videos realised that Thompson was not all there.

Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria are Slavic.

Highlights from yesterday's game in Colwyn Bay. https://www.nwcrusaders.co.uk/post/highlights-crusaders-20-14-midlands

Think putting nobody is a bit unfair I'm sure they didn't go out there to lose and a bit cynical of you! there was plenty of effort from all the players!

It had to be used as a shop window to entice countries to want to visit and instead it was yet another example of 'will this do' and on the cheap. We saw the kind of show the NRL expects with the Vegas event. It could never have been as good as that but it could have headed in that direction.