Danny McGuire has had his say on a hugely controversial Captain’s Challenge decision that proved decisive as Castleford Tigers were edged out by Wigan Warriors at Wheldon Road.
The Tigers turned in one of their strongest showings of the year to lead Wigan for much of the contest and they were ahead a big chunk of the second half with an effort from captain Sam Wood putting them within a few minutes of a famous victory.
But then came controversy as Castleford were denied a penalty by video referee Aaron Moore. Wigan Warriors challenged the decision of a turnover after seeing Tyler Dupree drop on a loose ball on the last, believing Josh Simm had played at the ball with his boot.
Replays showed the Warriors were right to question the call, but what Moore overlooked was a pull back from Harry Smith, which appeared to prevent Simm from getting on the end of his kick. That should have seen the Tigers awarded a penalty at a crucial point of the game.
As it was, Wigan were handed possession and they scored what proved to be key try in that set through Zach Eckersley. Castleford hit back through Will Tate but the Warriors did enough to win as Liam Farrell scored with less than three minutes on the clock.
Ultimately, Eckersley’s effort wasn’t the last of the night then, but it was decisive enough for Castleford to feel very aggrieved.
Castleford Tigers boss Danny McGuire slates officiating
“Everyone in the ground can see it’s a penalty,” McGuire told Sky Sports when asked about the call. “I can’t see why they can’t see it’s a penalty.
“Everyone can see Josh Simm gets pulled back, what are they looking for? I don’t know what they’re looking for.
“I don’t get it. I don’t get the officiating. I don’t get the captain’s challenge. I don’t get some of the things that happen in the game. It’s bewildering. The standard of officiating is getting worse.
“You feel for the players because they’re trying their absolute nuts off and they get calls like that. How can I defend that?
“It’s hard because when you’re scrapping and fighting and not getting things your way, it hurts even more. It is what it is, we’ll take it on the chin and get back on the horse and ready to work on Thursday.”
On the game itself, McGuire was full of praise for his Castleford Tigers side’s showing: “I thought we were the better team and deserved to win the game. We got some really rough calls.
“I thought my players worked tirelessly and did themselves proud. Wigan have got good players that can drag them out of trouble. I’m really proud of the players, I thought they committed to each other, did some really good things with the ball, showed resilience at time defensively and I’m really proud of them.
“We had a little bit of adversity, Tom Amone didn’t train all week, he’s been on his illness bed, he’s just come in today and put in a shift like that.
“There’s some things that don’t always go to plan, you have to work with adversity and challenges. Innes Senior pulled out in captain’s run. All I ask is the players commit and they play with passion and pride and I thought they did that.”
