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100% Warrior wrote:

You all for a bit of biff but not unsportsmanlike conduct? That’s a little hypocritical isn’t it?

No, contradictory possibly but not hypocritical.

For me biff is players coming together, a reaction when feeling aggrieved, maybe to an accidental high tackle or such like.

I consider unsportsmanlike conduct to include things like rubbing opposition heads after a mistake, cheap shots that are not really bad enough to warrant a card but shouldn’t be part of the game.

I suppose it is how you interpret the terms.

That seems fair to me. Generally speaking, considering the contacts there are in a game (and how much more of it there is than in RU, say) I think the the sport *is* mostly played in a pretty good spirit, and rightly so.

I think those that say, bring back the biff, need to careful what they wish for. What I would say is that I don't like the inflexibility of saying, any punch is a red card. Personally, I would prefer this to be left to the judgement of the ref on the field. But it's the cheap shots that fans, rightly, dislike the most.

Trainman wrote:

No, contradictory possibly but not hypocritical.

For me biff is players coming together, a reaction when feeling aggrieved, maybe to an accidental high tackle or such like.

I consider unsportsmanlike conduct to include things like rubbing opposition heads after a mistake, cheap shots that are not really bad enough to warrant a card but shouldn’t be part of the game.

I suppose it is how you interpret the terms.

Biff for me is a punch up but I would agree to some extent your interpretation. Certainly not going to labour this point anyway.

I can come with you except head rubbing. I’m sorry but the uproar it’s caused is laughable. It’s gone on for decades, sometimes triggering a bit of biff (both our interpretations), sometimes triggering a huge defensive set which gets the crowd going.

Is it a little pathetic? Definitely but it’s a wind up tactic. Like sledging in cricket, the boxing trash talk the list goes into every sport. Getting rid of it would be another step towards the sterilisation of our great sport and takes out that little bit of needle in a game which keeps it intense and aggressive.

MadDogg wrote:

Hicks literally made up a rule when giving a penalty for Gildart rubbing a player's head. It isn't sportsmanlike and I don't particularly like it but its been going on for years - was only because it caught a bit of publicity last week that it was penalised.

Have you watched it back on Sky? Hicks clearly says to Gildart ‘you’ve had an email about it’.

Bigredwarrior wrote:

MadDogg wrote:

Hicks literally made up a rule when giving a penalty for Gildart rubbing a player's head. It isn't sportsmanlike and I don't particularly like it but its been going on for years - was only because it caught a bit of publicity last week that it was penalised.

Have you watched it back on Sky? Hicks clearly says to Gildart ‘you’ve had an email about it’.

I have done actually since I posted and heard that. Fine so Hicks was following instructions but might have been an idea to let the fans know - up until that point players were not penalised for that.

what if hes not read his email?

Pieman wrote:

what if hes not read his email?

I suspect the email went to the club and the club then have the responsibility of making players aware.

Pieman wrote:

what if hes not read his email?

I suspect the email went to the club and the club then have the responsibility of making players aware. Ignorance of the law is no excuse as they say...