York Knights boss reveals half-time conversation with officials after incident in Warrington Wolves defeat

York Knights boss Mark Applegarth had a conversation at half-time with referee Liam Moore, after a controversial incident that ended the first half.

The Knights went down 38-30 to Warrington Wolves on Friday night, in a valiant display. After going 16-0 down with only 15 minutes played, it looked as though Wire were in complete control, but York managed to turn the game around and lead 18-6 with eight minutes left before the break.

Sam Stone’s second try saw the Wolves take a lead into half-time, but they could well have been heading into the sheds down on the scoreboard, had York been given a final opportunity to attack.

With around 30 seconds to go, Knights winger David Nofoaluma was taken into touch by a number of Warrington players, and looked to be dragged from the field over the sidelines.

As a result, referee Moore awarded a scrum to the away side, leaving both commentators and Applegarth perplexed – with them thinking it would be a York penalty for a drag.

A penalty has been given in those circumstances the vast majority of the time in the past, and one in that moment would have given York perfect field position to launch a final play before the break.

However, the 50/50 call went against them, leaving Applegarth to question Moore’s decision as the players left the field.

“I asked Liam at half-time, because we got told that you weren’t allowed to drag,” the York boss said to Sky Sports post-match. “He said, in his opinion, David had a chance to get down on the floor and there were no bodies behind him to stop him. It what it is.”

Applegarth knows that one referee call certainly wasn’t the reason why the Knights lost, as they let in seven tries across the game, some of which were through defensive errors.

“I don’t think we lost that game on refereeing, put it that way. I think we lost it from our own undoing. 

“I want a team that can adapt and we’ll carry on working on that. Officials have got a tough enough job as it is. Our job is to adapt to whatever rules are getting officiated and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

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Analysing the game as a whole, the ex-Wakefield coach explained: “I thought my team showed some great character to fight our way back into it and ultimately left herself just a little bit too much to do.

“I’m proud of the tenacity and spirit that we showed, but also disappointed that we coughed up some soft ball and invited too much pressure onto ourselves.

“…If you score 30 points, you should be putting the game to bed, shouldn’t you?

“It’s a valuable lesson for us that we’re going to have to take our medicine. It will sting, as they always do.

“I said against Leeds, there’s some valuable lessons that we have to make sure we learn swiftly and put it into practise.”

York take on Keighley Cougars in the Challenge Cup next week, before returning to league action with ties against Wigan and Wakefield.