Paul Rowley blames officials after defeat to St Helens

Today there were three big games as Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Leopards met, Hull FC hosted Wakefield Trinity in a crucial fixture whilst Salford Red Devils and St Helens delivered what could be described as the match of the round, it was the closest as three points separated the two in front of six and a half thousand fans at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Salford let 15-2 but the Saints scored 16 unanswered points to claim an 18-15 win over the Red Devils.

The result is not ideal for Salford and their quest for play-off rugby. Though Leeds losing helped, Hull FC’s rise is a concern.

Salford played very well in the game but lost and after the game Paul Rowley blamed the officials.

“Games are very much decided by officials quite often and the obvious response to that will be, ‘they don’t miss a tackle’, ‘they don’t do a forward pass’, and no they don’t, but they don’t get batted 25 times a game either so a lot of it is just visual,” he said on Salford Red Devils TV.

“Then when you’ve got a bright pink boot four foot in front of you on a touchline, then you would hope that somebody competent would make the right decision. As a result of that the sequence continues and we get a man in the bin and then there’s a try scored from a knock on.

“Usually in the last two games we’ve been on the wrong side of things and I never tread that path with the players. I always worry about what we can do and what we can do better but I’m finding it very, very hard to go in there and hit the players with a stick because I think they did everything we asked of them.

“I thought we were physically good, I thought the game was decided by the officiating. I can’t be any clearer than that. I’m happy to put it out there and I think it’s factual. Well I know it’s factual and so I don’t think I can be criticised for saying it as it is.”

He also told the media to share their opinions: “Once you’ve finished quoting me, put your own opinions out there as well or please tell me if I’m wrong but I can see a lot of heads nodding so I’m going to assume you all agree.”

Many coaches have questioned officials in 2023 but a wider suggestion has been that the rules need clarifying. Perhaps this is really what needs to be addressed.