“He should never ref again” – Ex-Super League duo slam Liam Moore

Wigan Warriors claimed the World Club Challenge in controversial fashion as they defeated Penrith Panthers thanks to a Jake Wardle try that many felt shouldn’t have been allowed by referee Liam Moore.

That is especially true of those down under even those who previously played in Super League such as former former Wakefield Trinity star Justin Horo.

He said on the Levels Network podcast: “I don’t want this to overshadow the rest of the game. I’ve got to give credit to Wigan, their first half for sure was really good.

“They were really desperate, they leapt on turning up for each other, they took on a barrage of attacks from the Panthers and the Panthers went over with a really clear game plan.

“They did it last year against the Broncos when Cleary was putting in those little dink kicks. They didn’t want seven tackle sets so what they were doing was taking a little bit off those kicks or even running on the last and getting tackled, that’s because the in-goals are a little bit shorter and it was slippery. So Penrith went over with the game plan to not give Wigan any relief coming out of their twenty.

“But then Penrith gave away penalties, they dropped the ball a couple of times so you have to give credit to Wigan but f**k, those calls in the second-half were awful.”

Mason and Horo fume over Liam Moore decision

He was joined by Willie Mason who said: “I get it, you’re not going to get the 50-50s over there. He’s a Pommy who is probably from Wigan.”

And when he was told he was from Wigan, he laughed and added: “That call was so bad, it just wasn’t a try. He didn’t get anywhere near and he awarded a try. That’s why we have this f***ing thing,” he said as he mimicked the video referee signal.

Horo then said that maybe Moore was trying to “bend” the rules for Wigan: “That’s why there is some grey area in these rules and if you are going to bend the rules in favour of Wigan because you’re a local then sending it up as a try knowing you have to have evidence to overturn it is smart.

“If you are going to bend it then that’s one way of doing it, especially when you bend it the other way and send up the final try (Taylan May) as no try with a better view than you did the first.

“The first try was awful. He wasn’t even in position, he was five metres behind Brian To’o and Dylan Edwards who were blocking him from seeing any view of Jake Wardle getting the ball over.”

Mason then added: “He should never ref again. Honestly, that’s a debacle what he did. It’s not the 80s, it’s 2024 and there’s technology everywhere.”