Wigan Warriors have got one hand on the League Leaders Shield after beating Hull KR last night but fans have been quick to question a crucial and controversial call.
Despite leading for much of the game, Hull KR would go on to lose 24-20 with the victory sending Wigan Warriors top of Super League and in line to win another League Leaders Shield.
It would seem that the Robins’ near 40-year wait for silverware will go on until at least October when they could possibly still contest the Grand Final and last night proved that they have the ability to do so.
For large periods in the game, they were on top but two crucial sin bins saw them taken advantage of by Wigan with the Warriors scoring two tries during each ten-minute period when they had a man advantage.
Both yellow cards have been subject to some controversy as well with Joe Burgess adjudged to have flopped on Jai Field late in the first half before Tyler Dupree drew a yellow card for Jai Whitbread after the England prop remained down and forced the video referee to look at the incident.
Willie Peters referenced that second incident but stopped short of accusing Dupree of deliberately staying down, instead highlighting that it is a scourge on the game that is being coached.
Now, fans have had their say on both incidents and the verdict is that perhaps Wigan Warriors were on the end of two fortunate calls.
Wigan Warriors take advantage of controversial sin bins
Credit: SWpix Allan McKenzie
The first sin bin came for Joe Burgess with referee Jack Smith arguing that he had flopped onto Jai Field when assisting Oliver Gildart in a recovery tackle. Sky Sports shared footage of the incident to their X page where it has since been viewed 105,000 times.
It has elicited over 60 responses with fans in unison over the “ridiculous decision”.
Fans were quick to point out that Jai Field’s ball carrying arm was still up meaning he was allowed to join the tackle, with one labelling it a crazy decision.
Ball carrying arm is up, Field is still moving, you’d Roast Burgess if he doesn’t complete and Field offloads it. Crazy decision.
— MO (@MOvertonHKR) September 6, 2024
Another said: “Awful disgusting call, quite literally changed the course of the season.”
However, that incident was far less controversial than the second when Jai Whitbread was sent to the sin bin after being adjudged to have committed a high tackle on Wigan Warriors’ Tyler Dupree.
It was not something that referee Jack Smith flagged but was looked at by the video referee after Dupree stayed on the floor for over a minute after the tackle.
Fans and pundits alike have asked why Dupree did not go off for a Head Injury Assessment whilst the act of staying down was questioned by plenty, including former Huddersfield Giants man Eorl Crabtree.
“There is a definite advantage to staying down on the ground,” Crabtree noted whilst a Hull KR fan argued that Wigan had “conned the ref to get penalties and carried on”.
A joke of a game, 2 HIA’s, yet they conned the ref to get penalties and carried on, Lewis gets flattened no card for forber, budgie apparently lays on, off you go son 10 minutes in the bin, whitbread, high tackle 10 minutes for you as well, gave them cheating pies everything 😡😡
— ♠️snaggletooth♠️ (@ACrossHammer) September 7, 2024
Another went further and insinuated cheating, such was the frustration over the decisions.
They posted: “All I’m going to say is imagine having to cheat little old Hull KR. Well done RFL and you wonder why RL isn’t attracting major sponsors.”
Neutral fans were obviously less bias and argued that Hull KR should have won the game despite being on the end of two harsh sin bins.
One argued: “Wigan got lucky with the two KR Sin Bins. HKR only got themselves to blame they definitely were the better side overall. (WIRE Fan)”
8 Comments
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Les Emery
September 7, 2024 at 1:40 pm
Sam, this is very poor reporting.
As an opinion column splash attempting to solicit a specific view point and to attract echo chamber comments then it succeeds.
However, it fails to highlight the spectacular elements of our great game.
The sheer excitement, commitment, energy and sustained talent and skilled professionalism of the players and officials is worth emphasising far more than mere talking points.
The game was a brilliant advert for our sport but you miss reporting on this to indulge sky.
The level of professionalism in the sky commentary box does represent even a far distant shadow of Dan and others in the NRL.
They call the game factually and opine during the points where opinion is required after the fact, allowing the audience to watch as they see game unfold, without being informed by what and how a commentator sees it.
Hence the calling ‘ we now have a good position to start a set of six, rather than saying HKR now have a good position. Freudian or not, it is indicative and revealing.
Both teams scored some brilliant tries with some outstanding pieces of skill and flair, surely this is worth emphasising more.
HKR did not lose because of what you highlighted- they did not convert their possession and territorial dominance into creating chances. Wigan did that. I feel that your thesis will NOT be supported by ANY RL coach as to why HKR lost. It’s more important to analyse how successfully each side delivered their game plans.
Your pieces missed the bigger context, or, what is worse, failed to see it.
Anonymous
September 8, 2024 at 12:13 pm
Les, bet you’re one of the Wigan pie eaters. You’ve nothing to say about Jack Smith being from Wigan officiating his home town team on home turf.
13 against 13 Wigan would have lost and in all likelihood the LLS.
Looks dodgy to me – probably bent.
ian halliwell
September 7, 2024 at 9:21 pm
Its getting like football, nobody loses these days it’s always someone else’s fault, usually the refs. Every club including Wigan have had players sinbined and sent off for very little. What goes around comes around HKR lost, end of.
Anonymous
September 8, 2024 at 12:33 pm
“getting like football, nobody loses these days it’s always someone else’s fault”.
Well blame the RFL who introduced the ridiculous “golden point”. Should never have been introduced, if after the full eighty minutes the scores are tied then it usually means both sides were evenly matched.
As for every club has players sinbinned but if you notice it’s Wigan that seem to get of with a lighter punishment when it’s like for like offences.
Martin mcintyre
September 8, 2024 at 9:52 am
Hull kr are just bitter as they wear beaten by a better team. Where not super league and world club and challenge cup champions for nothing
Anonymous
September 8, 2024 at 12:21 pm
That’s it though, 4 out of Wigan’s 5 trys came when KR were down to 13 men.
As for the WCC, Wardle’s try wasn’t a try, he was 2 feet short of the try line when the ball hit the turf. The RFL here are ruining the game because of the way they are running it. The game isn’t expanding to what it needs for major sponsors and the sponsorship they do attract is getting less and less money going to clubs.
The Lancashire mafia aren’t going to change unless forced to do so.
Anonymous
September 8, 2024 at 12:36 pm
Typo error – should have said when KR were down to 12 men.
Anonymous
September 8, 2024 at 12:26 pm
Les, bet you’re one of the Wigan pie eaters. You’ve nothing to say about Jack Smith being from Wigan officiating his home town team on home turf.
13 against 13 Wigan would have lost and in all likelihood the LLS.
Looks dodgy to me – probably bent.