Cowboys beaten by Newcastle in slugfest

I did not see the Paulo Tackle so I can not comment and I am aware there is no consistency with the judiciary which we all would like to see if like you say the tackles were the same than Paulo should of never received the penalty he did although others have said the two tackles are like chalk and cheese.

Ref was fine, it's not hard to take one step to get around them. You're the only person who thinks there was some sort of "interference rule" not called. Never ever ever would that ever be stopped, nor has it ever in history, nor will it ever in future. I'm perplexed as to why Thurston carried on instead of chasing. Then again the amount of players who STILL try and quick tap within the 10 suggests a few aren't the sharpest crayons in the box.

Read post above Chrisn

Thurston ran into him because he was in the way to where the ball was, it is not up to Thurston to be aware where the ref is, it is up to the ref to make sure he does not obstruct the flow of the game, i don't get what you don't see here he obstructed the flow of the game. He has to blow his whistle. This is a stitch up for sure lol, ???

Not sure how Paulo who got 5 weeks (9 with loading) and Scott's tackle were much different. In fact, Scott even fought Thurston's arm to arrange him into a headlock then flipped him. Wasn't a "whoops all in 1 bad motion".

I officiate so don't worry I'm across the rules ;) The ref did nothing wrong, Thurston ran into him (poor awareness), no way in the world would that ever have been called back.

Terribly disappointing result from the judiciary - it's sad that the game is let down with these decisions.

Despite all the moaning from the sore losers beau Scott is free to play this weekend

Seems like Beau Scott is a protected species being from NSW, proof that there is a different set of rules for teams not from NSW.

If the ref obstructs the flow of the game he has to blow his whistle, it is in the rule book, go and get a copy! and if he doesn't blow his whistle he is a crap ref!

And as far as the game played is concerned Thurston and Scott's actions received exactly the same punishment?

So Uate was trying to milk a penalty by diving into Thurston forearm which was swinging by his side... and Thurston was laying down from a late shot shoulder charge when he had no ball, really trying to get a handle on the point your trying to make here Chris???

There was no great forward clash in this game? it wasn't a bruising affair on that level, just a lot of petty cheap shots ... bring back the bin!

I guess the precedent was set last year when Beau Scott took slater out in origin and there was nothing done. It's a dangerous practice and for all the talk of cleaning up the game I thought it would have been one of the first things they looked at.

2014: Storm and Dragons 3-0. Storm finished 6th and knocked out week 1. Dragons 11th. 2013: Souths and Storm 3-0. Finished 2 & 3. Neither were premiers. 2012: Dogs and Storm 3-0. Finished 1 & 2. Storm premiers. Dogs GFists. 2011: Dogs 3-0. 9th. 2010: Dragons, Titans & Storm 3-0. Finished 1, 4 & 16 - due to salary cap. Dragons premiers, Titans made it to last week of semis. 2009: Broncos 3-0. 6th. Last week of semis. 2008: Broncos 3-0. 5th. Week two of semis. 2007: Storm, Manly, Souths 3-0. Finished 1, 2 & 7. Storm premiers*, Manly GFists, Souths week 1 of semis. 12 from 15 teams who start 3-0 make the semis. 12 of 15 teams who start 0-3 get the spoon. In 3 of the 8 years the premiers were a team that started 3-0 and in 3 of 8 years the spooners started 0-3. Allowing for an extremely limited sample size, these stats show that a) an 0-3 or 3-0 start occurs slightly less frequently as they statistically should (25% probability of having either start vs 23.4% actual) and b) is a reliable indicator of a teams chances of making the semis. 80% of teams who start 0-3 miss the semis while 80% of teams who start 3-0 make the finals. Of course the bulk of teams start somewhere in between. There's also two * years with storms cap affected 2007 and 2010 years.

Have you even played sport? Every grade targets the ref, good old outside inside around the ref can be a pain to defend against. There is certainly NO rule saying "oh the ref got in my way, call it back!"

Woah, interesting stat. Mind asking, is there one for the reverse? Starting 3-0? :P

But how's it any different to what most players tend to do nowadays when getting players to the ground? If Houston doesn't lift, then Scott isn't placed on report and you'll find half the criticism towards us, towards Scott fades. If it were the other way around then fair enough but until the lifting Thurston wasn't in a dangerous position. Should he cop a suspension? Of course, but anything over two weeks will be a joke and once again shows how quick they are to fold to public opinion surrounding superstars of the game.

funny how you have to stoop to compare the "NRL" refs to under 12's to make excuses, maybe we should get the under 13's Ref into the NRL?

Maybe a grubby tactic from your end of town Spong ... it is in the rulebook, ye of no knowledge of the game, if the ref obstructs in the playing of the ball he has to blow his whistle? though don't worry spong, your not the only one, there are many others here that have no knowledge of the rules of the game they watch. lol