A FEW weeks back, this website and this writer published a column about rugby league cleaning up its act.

We suggested that the greater scrutiny which first came from the judiciary in the 1980s and has since intensified thanks to technology, social and media trends, was a good thing which could only benefit the game.

One reader, Brin Paulsen, was affronted. "With the zest of a zionist heading towards the promised land, one day you'll have everything league-wise nicely tidied up and ordered alphabetically in a nice little box on a nice little shelf," he wrote.

Mr Paulsen no doubt believes your correspondent was appalled on Friday night when the Bulldogs and Wests Tigers met in an ill-tempered encounter which saw rival props Bryce Gibbs and Ben Hannant (pictured, above, during the game) almost come to blows at fulltime.

Wests Tiger Gibbs apparently made reference to Bulldog Hannant's Mormon faith as the pair left the field.

But Mr Paulsen would be wrong - because I loved it.

Wests Tigers have played two games in a row against opposition that, in the words of North Queensland's Willie Mason, "just don't like" each other.

They won one of the games, lost the other. Neither was a spectacular, thrill-a-minute game but I couldn't fathom those fellow viewers who claimed to have been bored by them.

That's because of the the drama, the theatre, that engulfed these games from rounds five and six.

Bulldogs hooker Michael Ennis, celebrating like he had won the grand final when he scored two tries opposite his bitter rival Robbie Farah: priceless.

Hannant having to be restrained by trainer Fred Ciraldo from chasing Gibbs down the tunnel: gold.

Such passion should be celebrated in our game, not swept under the carpet. Imagine how many more people we can add to the gate the next time these two times play.

So why the change of heart since March 25? Well, I haven't changed my heart or my mind. My point last time was that people deserve to KNOW if a player was sledged over his mental health, a coach kicked a door in or a captain abused a referee.

The court of public opinion would do the rest.

It is my opinion that picking on someone who had suicidal thoughts by making light of his condition is not cool, nor is it acceptable.

It is also my opinion that calling someone a Mormon so-and-so is nowhere near as bad. That's just the way I see it. The fact that you might have a different opinion is what makes websites like this so compelling.

Increased scrutiny is good because it allows us to make better-informed opinions.