Aside from that, is this something you need to "applaud"?



A 31 year old man has took his own life. I appreciate the sentiment that we should celebrate his career but here we have a life that has been cut short by depression. That's not something to applaud in my view. If we were talking about a legend of the game that died well into his later years, an applause may be more appropriate, but not here.



You wouldn't for example, get a minutes applause in remembrance of the Valley Parade fire or the Hillsborough Disaster. A minutes silence is much more appropriate.

Yes: sad news for Terry's family - but his actions tainted the sport of Rugby League, and he should be remembered for what he was (a cheat) not some sort of hero at the biggest game of the year.



Why not honour some more deserving former rugby league players who have died this year? Or have a general minute of silence for all former players who have died.



Given most Saints fans feelings to him when he was alive, it is inevitable that there will be some disruption to the minutes silence, which will reflect badly on the game as a whole.

I take into account how his fellow professionals view him. They know the man... and they know how hard the game is to play. Half the people on here probably haven't played the game... nor had to put up with the things in his personal life... The guy was in trouble and he felt he had nowhere to turn.



I for one think he deserves the respect. He played tough and made some bad decisions both on and off the field... but they were mistakes of which we are all guilty of... but that doesn't mean we don't deserve respect when our times come.

Given that one of Newton's ex team's is playing maybe they could get "Terry Newton 9 Always Remembered" engraved under Wigan's emblem

Some people on here are talking about Terry as if he was the baddest man in RL.



He was no more a dirty player than a lot of people. I would go as far as to say that there are plenty of people out there who were far worse.



Some of you need to stop using this horrible, horrible situation as an excuse to voice your own self important pontificating.



Jesus Christ, it is a sport. Nothing more. Anyone you don’t like is no more than a pantomime villain.



Anyone who boo’s during a minutes silence should be booted from the ground. I don’t care who it is for.



Some of the comments on this and other posts have sickened me.



People spout off about the Rugby league family, well it is one heck of a dysfunctional family if this is how we behave.

The reaction on here helps me understand why the bloke felt so alone. He made mistakes, we all do, but he shouldn't now be treated like one of the biggest villains that has ever walked the earth.



He deserves a minutes silence because rugby league was his life and it was probably watching Wigan get to the GF and thinking he'd never be part of it again that sent him over the edge.



Whether a Saint, a Pie or a neutral we should all be respectful on Saturday and show that for all his flaws Terry Newton will be remembered by the game of rugby league.

And he will be, the idiots are definitely in the minority, it just seems they are a minority that have broadband and Facebook accounts.



I have been in a fairly "dark" place myself recently, and I cannot begin to imagine the thought process that lead Terry to leave his wife and children behind, I suggest anyone being critical takes a good long look at their life, and realises how lucky they are to have the support mechanisms they have.

Spot on. Loads of players down the years have had a "reputation" - my first memories of watching Widnes include Jim Mills. Hindsight tells us he was a 'hard man' - many of his actions were just thuggish, but he was on my team and he was a winner and I loved him. More recently I've been watching Toa Kohe Love in a Widnes shirt - never averse to a 'cheap shot', but again, a great player to have in your team. I dare say a look back at Barrie Mac's career involves some shockers - but a nicer man off the field it would be hard to meet.



Tez made a huge mistake with the drugs thing, but he got caught and was serving his punishment as per the worldwide code on drugs. There's a few others around the game who have come back from a ban and got on with it, it's a crying shame Tez couldn't do the same.



So, I think it's right that the RL family show's it's respect for his career and him as a human being. Anyone who disturbs a minutes silence for him should not be welcome at an RL game. If you are strongly moralistic around drugs and don't agree with the silence then fine, but during it is not the time to make your point. Tez's wife and kids may even be watching - or will certainly get to hear about it. Before you boo or make a noise, think of them and how they would feel. Show some respect - it costs nothing, even if you hated him in life.

thats the real risk - the reaction of the Saints fans. and i agree, it will reflect badly on the game as a whole.

The decision is just pure stupidity from the RFL. There will be thousands of drunken young lads at the game. It's just a receipe for disaster.



If the minutes silence is disrupted on mass the atmosphere is going to become VERY nasty. The whole event could be ruined by it. The family and friends of Newton will be upset and angered by it, the Wigan fans will react badly and those decent Saints fans around those who do abuse the minutes silence will be put in a bad position as well.



Why not respectfully put a note in the programme and leave it at that?



I just hope they don't dwell on his passing and that our fans can behave in a respectful manner and that especially there is no chanting Saints fans' favourite ditty about Newton.

Very well said



I do question the minute silence before this match, but I do so for the players that are about to play. A lot of Saints and Wigan players have played and trained with Terry and a lot considered him to be a friend. Considering the circumstances and manner of his death I think a minute's silence in front of 80k could be a bit much for those players.



Nevertheless, though many did not like Terry on the field, he is, with Lowes and Cunningham, one of the three best British Hookers of the Super League era. It is this, the thoughts of his family and the tragic situation that very much involved our sport that we remember at Old Trafford.

Well said bud!