Castleford Tigers coach Craig Lingard has claimed that the video referee recommended that Wigan Warriors star Harry Smith should have been sent off.
This was for a tip tackle on Luke Hooley just before the controversial moment that defined the game when Liam Watts was sent off for contact with the head.
Lingard said after the game that the video referee recommended a red card for Harry Smith:
“On the recommendation of the off-field referee, it was a red card and the referee deemed it to be a yellow card. I might be wrong but from the touchline, the video referee recommended a red card, so why wasn’t it?
“I’m hoping we won’t need to appeal it and there are no charges to answer, it depends how they interpret it. If there are no charges to admit then I will admit I’m wrong.”
Castleford Tigers boss reflects on Wigan Warriors victory
New Castleford Assistant Coach Craig Lingard *** during the Betfred Super League match between Castleford and Catalan Dragons at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle, Castleford, UK on 12 May 2023. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xSimonxHallx 37200005
Lingard was pleased with the performance despite the result against the Super League Champions.
He said: “If this happens last year then we’ll probably get beat by 50 or 60 points. It’s a new group that we’ve got this year and it’s a new attitude that we’ve tried to instil in the players through pre-season. I thought we saw that in abundance in the second half.
He added: “There’s a lot of adversity there against a world-class team. They were the best team in the competition last year, and their playing for the World Cup Challenge next week. For me it’s probably the best squad in the Super League so for our boys to do that as a new group, it’s their first competitive game to play together, I thought they were outstanding.”
He also praised Danny Richardson: “Danny has had some real tough luck with injuries over the last 16, 18 months and for him to get that first competitive game out against a real good team like Wigan will do wonders for his confidence and hopefully now he can build into the season and get better as the season progresses.
“I thought Elie was outstanding. We’ve got some threat on an edge now, and if we maintain 13 players you might get to see a bit more of them.”
