Former Castleford Tigers star slams Liam Watts red card

During Round One of the Betfred Super League, the Castleford Tigers played against the Super League Champions Wigan Warriors in a match that took place in heavy rain at the Jungle stadium. The game witnessed some controversial moments that raised concerns over the new rules introduced in 2024 and the decisions made by the referees and video referees.

In the first instance, Kaide Ellis was not issued a card despite making contact with the head of an opponent because the player’s back was bent. Later, Harry Smith was sin binned for accidentally tipping Luke Hooley onto his head during a tackle. However, the most significant moment of the match came when Liam Watts was sent off for direct contact with the head while making a tackle on Tyler Dupree. Dupree was ducking down when Watts and Joe Westerman went to make the tackle, resulting in Watts’ shoulder making contact with Dupree’s head.

During the live broadcast on BBC, the camera caught the reaction of Castleford Tigers Head Coach Craig Lingard, who appeared to say “F*ck off. That’s f*cking ridiculous.” Danny McGuire, another Castleford Tigers player, was seen shaking his head and saying “how?” in disbelief. Despite the team’s frustration, Wigan Warriors managed to secure a 16-4 halftime lead with tries from Patrick Mago and Bevan French.

The red card to Watts was a topic of debate across Super League with former Castleford Tigers star Nathan Massey slamming the decision saying on X: “The game’s gone.” Meanwhile, Wakefield Trinity star Iain Thornley joked: “Another one bites the dust.”

Castleford Tigers follows the trend

In the first game between Hull FC and Hull KR, Herman Ese’ese received the first sin bin penalty for a high shot, in accordance with the new rules. Following this, Franklin Pele was sent off for a swinging arm, and Ligi Sao was also sent off, while Matt Parcell was sin binned.

In the match at Headingley, Ryan Brierley was sin binned for a high tackle on his friend Brodie Croft. Similarly, in the game between Leigh Leopards and Huddersfield Giants, Ricky Leutele was sin binned for a late hit, and John Asiata was also shown a yellow card. After the dismissal of Momirovski, Amir Bourouh of Salford became the ninth player to be carded. Two additional cards were shown in the game at the Jungle.