Rival coach calls for strong officiating after controversial Castleford Tigers call

After the controversial call against Castleford Tigers last week, rival coach Luke Robinson has called for strong officiating on Thursday night when his Huddersfield Giants side travel to the Jungle.

Castleford saw a pivotal call go against them on Saturday night against Wigan with the RFL head of referees Phil Bentham conceding that it was a “clear error”. That apology came after Tigers’ head coach Danny McGuire berated the decision not to award a penalty for a pull-back by Harry Smith on Josh Simm.

Instead of Castleford being awarded a penalty, Wigan were handed the ball back and the Warriors scored on the resulting set in a major blow for the Tigers.

By no means did it decide the game given that Castleford did lead with just five minutes to go, however, it was a major talking point that Robinson is hopeful won’t affect the officiating on Thursday night.

“I’m hoping that the referees don’t get riled up and actually go against us because we’ve had some difficult calls ourselves this season,” he explained to BBC Radio Leeds when asked for his thoughts on the call.

Luke Robinson gives verdict head on Castleford Tigers’ coach outburst

McGuire’s comments on the call have seen him facing an RFL investigation but Robinson was clearly wary that they may sway the official’s to side with the home team when Castleford host Huddersfield on Thursday night.

Speaking about McGuire’s comments, Robinson was empathetic:  “It’s very difficult as a coach because sometimes you feel like things aren’t going your way and some of the other sides seem to get a rub of the green. It can become frustrating.

“We had zero penalties once again at half time, I think that’s two or three times it’s happened this year and it was spoken about a lot in the State of Origin with New South Wales and how it was unheard of for a side not to get a penalty. Well, come and watch Huddersfield Giants because it’s happened a few times this year.”

He also noted that it was definitely a penalty, adding: “He’s a good bloke is Danny who wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s one of those moments that he thought was a turning point. If you watch it in normal time it’s not as evident but when you do slow it down, yeah (it’s a penalty).”

Robinson makes appeal to referee

At the time of writing, the match officials are unconfirmed but Robinson has pleaded that whoever is the man in the middle remains fair and neutral, though he conceded it can be tough.

Robinson said: “You’d like to think it’s not swayed any which way whether there’s been an outburst or not. You just want everything to be fair and equal but you don’t always get that when you go away which is human with fans being on your back, it can feel like you can get swayed.

“I think there’s always a little bit of unconscious bias but it’s also about where you sit (in the table) as well. When you’re physically more dominant than another side and playing with confidence then inevitably it does make a difference.

“We can only concentrate on ourselves and what we can control so it’s about getting our game right.”

A win for the Giants against the Tigers would see them close the gap to two points, whilst Castleford will be hoping to keep their very very slim play-off hopes alive.