THE sound of Saints skipper James Graham getting it in the neck from the Wakefield fans for talking to the referee on Sunday showed that some of the seeds scattered recently are beginning to bear a bitter fruit.

This is probably a fall-out from the game at the Halliwell Jones last month in which the Saints skipper, on one occasion, blew his top at the referee over a penalty decision.

And afterwards there was a bit of hint and innuendo that Graham had subsequently influenced the way the game was played in the middle part, the period in which Saints got on top.

Anybody who attended Warrington coach Tony Smith’s post match press conference after that match would have been left with the impression that Wolves were as pure as the driven snow and accepted every decision without question.

Yet there was one period in that game, in which Wolves were defending their line after back-to-back penalties, when Lee Briers button-holed the referee and essentially stopped the game, allowing his players to get some oxygen into their lungs. It worked and Saints knocked on two plays later.

In rugby league some players get their way quietly; if you are a 6ft 3, 17 stone fired up front rower, and wave your arms about like Magnus Pyke in full flow, your actions are going to be more noticeable.

Some players are masters at getting the referee on side and that has always gone on.

During the 1986 John Player Trophy quarter final at Knowsley Road, Warrington’s skipper Les Boyd was in the ear of lanky Wakefield whistler Deryck Fox for the full 80 minutes. And if Boyd told you it is Sunday, you didn’t take a calendar out to check.

Warrington won that one too – and probably would have done so anyway that day such was the dominance of big men Boyd and Jackson, and behind them the sheer cockiness and guile of little guy Paul Bishop.

But there is a line for the players to walk. One of the worst features of football is the hounding of referees, particularly after penalty decisions and it would be a massive retrograde step if rugby league was to go down that route.

There is a lot more unpunished back-chatting against refs these days – the sort that would have seen Billy Thompson just march play down field 10 yards at a time or simply tell the worst culprits to get the bath running.

How do we distinguish between dissent and captains seeking clarification?

The communication between referee and captain is crucial to the smooth running of a high intensity, physical combat sport. James Graham and Paul Wellens have every right to speak to the ref on the hoof, particularly these days with so many grey areas over the post-tackle situation.

This year Saints have been on the rough edge of some awful decisions, particularly on the forward pass front against Wigan, Leeds and Warrington so you understand the haste in which arms are flapped when the ball has gone forward.

But it is worth ramming home that once a decision has gone against you, there is little point moaning. Referees don’t change their minds and it is significant that Saints have conceded points on a number of occasions this year immediately after getting a bad call at the other end of the field.