What is a knock-on and other mysteries: latest Leeds Rhinos talking points

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There were some tricks for Leeds Rhinos, but few treats in their 24-6 loss to Warrington Wolves at Elland Road’s Magic Weekend.

It was the best game of two days of largely one-sided contests, but controversy over refereeing decisions dominated the post-match analysis. Here’s five talking points.

1: What is a knock-on?

The definition, in the RFL’s laws of the game, is “to knock the ball towards the opponent's dead ball line with hand or arm”. Rhinos thought Warrington’s Matty Ashton had done that early in the second half of Saturday’s game, referee Chris Kendall felt otherwise and from then on, it all went wrong for Leeds.

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Referee Chris Kendall on a Sky TV monitor as he awaits a decision from his video assistant during Leeds Rhinos' Magic Weekend loss to Warrington Wolves. Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com.Referee Chris Kendall on a Sky TV monitor as he awaits a decision from his video assistant during Leeds Rhinos' Magic Weekend loss to Warrington Wolves. Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com.
Referee Chris Kendall on a Sky TV monitor as he awaits a decision from his video assistant during Leeds Rhinos' Magic Weekend loss to Warrington Wolves. Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com.

After the match, coach Brad Arthur made no attempt to hide the fact he felt Leeds were on the wrong end of some tough calls, also taking issue with a ball steal penalty and the sin-binnings which followed. The reason for much of Leeds’ annoyance can be traced back a couple of weeks to the game at Salford Red Devils.

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Leeds Rhinos fans blast ref after loss to Warrington Wolves, admit top-6 hopes o...

It was Leeds’ own fault they lost that one, after leading 12-0 and 16-6, but they had no momentum following an incident early in the second half when Ash Handley clearly spilled the ball backwards and referee Tom Grant called a scrum to Salford.

Leeds could also feel a little aggrieved at the seven-two penalty count in Wolves’ favour, maybe more the two than the seven. Kendall and Grant - who was his video assistant on Saturday - swapped roles the following day when Hull KR thumped Catalans Dragons. During a stoppage following a skirmish, one press box wag commented: “This will be a penalty to Warrington.”

A scuffle breaks out between Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves during their Magic Weekend fixture at Elland Road. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.A scuffle breaks out between Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves during their Magic Weekend fixture at Elland Road. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.
A scuffle breaks out between Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves during their Magic Weekend fixture at Elland Road. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.

2: Captain’s challenge.

Introducing a ‘captain’s challenge’ - as seen in the NRL and World Cup two years ago - would clear up most similar incidents. Though it would mean games dragging on even longer, there’s no convincing reason why that can’t be introduced to Betfred Super League, now every game is televised.

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Referees already rely heavily on their video assistants to judge on tries and red or yellow cards and giving teams - via their captain - an opportunity to check what they feel is a contentious call should eliminate some of the sort of controversies seen at the weekend.

3: Penalty try?

A crowd of almost 31,000 watched day one of Magic Weekend at Elland Road. Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com.A crowd of almost 31,000 watched day one of Magic Weekend at Elland Road. Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com.
A crowd of almost 31,000 watched day one of Magic Weekend at Elland Road. Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com.

Opinion afterwards was divided on Ashton’s alleged knock-on and the penalty which immediately followed, for a supposed ball steal by Rhyse Martin. It was one-on-one, but the suggestion was a defender had dropped off the tackle, making it illegal - a rule which applies in Super League, but not the NRL.

However, a source connected to the match officials department told the YEP he thought it had been a legal steal and the penalty call was incorrect, which just highlights the difficult job referees have.

Anway, one clearly incorrect call was the sin-binning of David Fusitu’a for supposedly denying a try-scoring opportunity when he took out Ashton as both players chased a kick. A penalty, yes - but Ashton wouldn’t have scored.

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Grant, the video official, signalled no try after being asked to check for a possible penalty score. Bizarrely, Kendall’s on-field call was also ‘no try’, so why he felt the need to hand the decision on is a mystery. Warrington scored 12 points when Leeds were a man down and it was a key moment in the game.

4: Still in it.

Rhinos might not have got any of the 50-50 decisions against Warrington, but other results went their way. Though Leigh Leopards’ win over Salford Red Devils knocked Rhinos down one spot to eighth, it also kept the gap between Leeds and sixth-placed Salford at four points.

It’s the same deficit to St Helens - who are fourth - and fifth-placed Catalans Dragons, after both also lost, so Rhinos are still just about in the top-six race with five games remaining.

It’ll effectively be all over if they lose to Catalans at AMT Headingley on Friday, but their following two games are against the bottom pair of London Broncos and Hull FC. Leigh visit London on Saturday and then have a tough home game against Warrington, while Catalans play host to Wigan Warriors next week. A problem for Leeds is they travel to the top two Wigan and Hull KR in their final couple of fixtures, so it’s still odds-against, but not quite done and dusted.

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5: Lacking Magic

As a whole, Magic Weekend in Leeds was a mixed bag. Only one of the six games, Huddersfield’s 20-12 defeat of Castleford Tigers, was remotely close and the combined score in the other five was 135-14.

Rather than trying to split it, the RFL’s strategy was to guarantee one bumper gate, which is why Rhinos, Warrington, St Helens, Wigan and Hull all played on Saturday. The ground looked good with 30,810 in, but the following afternoon drew the lowest crowd for any single day since the event began in 2007.

The aggregate of 53,103 was the second smallest, after Edinburgh in 2010 and if Magic is going to survive, it needs to be back in Newcastle, which is the ideal venue. Dublin or Barcelona would be fun, but the logistics aren’t practical.

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