Daryl Powell has accused Hull FC boss John Cartwright of influencing referee James Vella in his decision making during Wakefield Trinity’s clash with Hull FC. Wakefield lost 16-10 at the MKM Stadium, with the West Yorkshire side surrendering a 0-10 half-time lead in the second half.
Max Jowitt scored Wakefield’s only try before the interval but it’s fair to say the Trin’s level of performance dropped off significantly as Hull forced their way back into the contest. Powell was shocked by his side’s second half showing, labelling it the worst he has seen from his side during his time at the club.
However, the head coach also believes there was an influence on the referee that significantly altered the penalty count after the break.
Wakefield were the beneficiaries of a one-sided penalty count in the first half. That flipped after the break, with Powell believing words said in the tunnel from the Black and Whites may have been a factor.
Wakefield Trinity boss on John Cartwright influence
“Two contrasting halves really,” Powell said in his post-match press conference. “I don’t think we were ever great really, it was a real scrappy game.
“We dominated territory on the first half and then second half, I don’t know what happened to us to be honest, they played better, they were pretty poor in the first half but played much better in the second half.
“The decision making from the referee completely flipped from one side to the other, a couple of reasons for that I believe.”
He continued: “There was an influence of the referee and I just thought the game completely flipped, I’ve seen an influence on the referee in the tunnel after the first half. I’ve done that in the past, it just shouldn’t work and I think it worked, he completely flipped his decision making.
“I don’t think we handled the second half well to be honest. We have to hold our hands up to that but I don’t think the referee should ever be influenced.
“There were some words in the tunnel. I don’t want to go into it too much, we’ve lost a game and we deserved to lose, Hull deserved to win and good luck to them. I don’t think we should see that from us again. I’m pretty disappointed with that. That’s the most disappointed I’ve been with this group of players since I’ve been at Wakefield. It’s not acceptable.
Pushed further on the incident, Powell said: “He’s not been aggressive to anybody, he was just saying some words in ear shot and it shouldn’t work.”
