Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has teed off on the captain’s challenge calls and length in his side’s semi-final loss to Hull KR.
Wire lost 32-12 as they failed to make a third consecutive Challenge Cup Final and whilst Hull KR were dominant, it’s fair to say that a number of the marginal calls went against Warrington Wolves.
Burgess’ side saw two challenges ruled inconclusive due to the lack of available camera angles, whereas Hull KR saw both their challenges successful, one leading to an Oliver Gildart try and the other to a Rhyse Martin penalty that stretched the lead to three scores.
Speaking post-match on the BBC, Burgess was clear in that his side had been second best but he made his feelings on the captain’s challenge system clear.
“Well, you best be careful what you say because they don’t like it when you tell the truth,” Burgess responded when asked about potentially being on the wrong side of some decisions.
“But seriously, the Captain’s Challenge, I don’t know if they were watching the same game. I don’t know who the third referee was but some of those calls, the inconclusive stuff. You get decisions wrong all the time but how long do they want to take?
“It’s ten past six, we kicked off at four o’clock. It’s two hours and ten minutes. Listen, I’m disappointed with the result but it’s all a mess and it needs tidying up.”
Leeds Rhinos star’s controversial charge, inconsistent Hull FC and Challenge Cup predictions – Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
Warrington Wolves boss rues slow start
Giving further assessment of the performance, Burgess explained that Warrington failed to get a foothold in the game.
He said: “We really didn’t get into the game early. It’s probably the first time that we didn’t build any momentum or anything.
“We’ll take plenty of lessons out of it but we went away from things that were working for us.
“It’s disappointing to do that today, but I’m proud of our effort. We never stopped trying.”
Trailing 14-6 at half-time despite being well under the cosh, Burgess said: “I was happy with that (half-time score), it could have been way worse when you give a good team like Hull KR so much possession and territory.
“We weren’t clinical with the ball and that makes defence hard, I think we were about 65% (completion) for the game so it’s disappointing but we’ll take plenty of lessons out of it.”
.@HullKROfficial run out clear winners in the end and book their place at @wembleystadium 🐦#ChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/jHXXxiwBW7
— Betfred Challenge Cup (@TheChallengeCup) May 10, 2026
Super League Disciplinary News
Wigan Warriors pair banned following Challenge Cup Final as Sam Walters cops monster suspension
