Wigan Warriors are the World Champions but it wasn’t a win that came without controversy however.
There was a one on one strip near the end of the game that should have been allowed for Penrith Panthers under the international rules that were in place whilst the Panthers also had a try disallowed at the death.
This was just the tip of the iceberg in the game with the real talking point being the winning try as Wigan Warriors claimed a 16-12 win over the NRL Premiers Penrith Panthers.
This went to former Huddersfield Giants and Warrington Wolves centre Jake Wardle getting over for the winning try.
The hero of the Super League Grand Final win in a lot of ways as the Harry Sunderland Award winner but this time he scored the try this time or did he?
Wardle powered towards the line from a Jai Field pass but appeared to be held short. However, official Liam Moore sent the try up as a try which left the decision in the hands of Chris Kendall as the video referee.
With no evidence to overturn in the view of Kendall, he agreed with the on field decision.
Willie Mason slams Wigan Warriors winning try
Speaking on the Levels Network, former Hull KR star and Catalans Dragons forward Willie Mason slammed this decision.
Mason said: “What a fuck up! Those calls were awful. I get it, you’re not going to go over there and get the 50/50 calls. He’s a pommy, probably from Wigan.”
When he found out that Moore is in fact from Wigan he laughed and said:
“Oh that’s bad. That call was so bad. He didn’t get anywhere near the line. He should never ref again. Honestly, that was a debacle what he did. This isn’t the f*cking 80s mate, it’s 2024. The technology is there.”
At the end of the day, the officials followed the process used in Super League to the letter but they were perhaps let down by this system given Moore had an obstructed view as he oversaw the initial attempt from Wardle. That is no consolation for those down under.
