Wigan Warriors’ hopes of lifting a record 21st Challenge Cup and a second Challenge Cup in a row under Matt Peet have been ended at Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley Stadium against Hull KR, the same place they began.

Wigan were in control of the game at 8-4 but then Joe Shorrocks was sent off.

The loose-forward had only just entered the game and hit Mikey Lewis with a full blooded tackle at the start of a set.

However, replays showed that Shorrocks’ shoulder caught Lewis’ chin and he was sent off.

After the game, Wigan boss Matt Peet addressed the decision.

He said: “I don’t think I’m going to make any comment on it to be honest. It is a big call in a big game.”

He went on to suggest that Lewis should have been taken off: “I don’t know how if the player is that dazed, I don’t know how he stays on after a head injury assessment.

“The referee makes the call, it is what it is.”

When asked how Shorrocks’ reacted, he said: “He’s upset and confused, a partisan crowd, a referee from Wigan who feels under the spotlight.

“We just have to be better and deal with it. It was a massive call and I wonder if that was a sin bin would everyone say it should have been a red.

“It was a big call to make, that and Mikey Lewis didn’t get checked out even though he was staggering all over the place.

“If that was our player we would have brought him off.”

This prompted the suggestion that it was gamesmanship from Lewis.

When asked: ‘Do you think it was a bit of gamesmanship?’ Peet simply said: “You said it.”

Now for Wigan the focus firmly shifts to making the play-offs and finishing as high as they can to ensure a crack at Super League glory.

Meanwhile, Hull KR can now look ahead to a Challenge Cup Final against Leigh Leopards which will take place at Wembley on August 12th so is just three weeks away for two teams who have waited decades to lift the trophy.