If anything, the visitors were lucky to keep all their players on the field as both green and yellow cards should have been handed out by referees Ash Patel and John Mills - the latter who does not have a Rebels family connection.
Furthermore, the counterpoint offered, 6.30pm for the game was mooted but never officially on the table because Hockey Manawatu Inc had scheduled two other games for that time, which meant they would otherwise have been pushed back to 8pm, thus the early afternoon start.
Collegians learned of this around the Friday before the Sunday game.
So right there, it appears to be a very big oversight by the governing body which inadvertently increased the difficulties for the travelling side in a very important match, compounded by the fact the game did not start with two officials available.
And that might be all right, chalked up to just hard luck for Collegians, if taken in a vacuum.
But what hasn't made print as much in the past four months is other bugbears Wanganui teams felt at times in 2014, be it games initially deferred due to players travelling to other tournaments on that day suddenly getting the go-ahead and being cleared with the tournament's hosting association, or players protesting rough play and being told to leave the turf for "abuse of officials".
"It's a totally different game down there in Palmy," is a quote that springs to mind from one May article.
It got to a point where, and admittedly this was just venting, there was talk of Wanganui teams shifting over to the Taranaki association and playing their home games on the Stratford turf.
Hockey Wanganui's head Ian Glenny has done his best job for diplomacy between the two camps by asking local teams to be a bit more careful when chatting to the media.
However much of this was just Wanganui frustration with their continuous League losses, rather than unfair treatment in the Manawatu, it serves as an important cautionary tale for all local sports, one coming already too late for some.
From youth grades to premier club adults, getting the numbers out on Wanganui amateur sports fields remains a struggle every season, and with it comes the obvious desire for undermanned teams and associations to just shift allegiance to a bigger province, getting the advantage of their deeper pockets and stronger squad rosters.
Local rugby lost its independent WRFU Under 15 competition this May as the last of the Wanganui school sides joined the 74-team strong Manawatu schoolboy competitions, of which about 42 per cent of the teams actually come from outside that province.
Bowls has also seen a combined top club competition started last summer between Wanganui and Manawatu, although in that case the terms are quite cordial as both regions are dealing with low player numbers.
Not only does amalgamation bring considerable added travel costs and expenses for local teams, but it means a much smaller voice in their sport's governing board room when it comes to discussions of itineraries, allocation of resources, and preferential treatment.
Smaller fish in bigger ponds are hardly made priority, either willfully or at least in absent minded manner. If you're thinking of jumping because it seems the best course of action available, consider all the negatives with the positives.
The grass may seem greener, in a neighbouring backyard, but if you join that family, you are always the red-headed stepchild.
