SAM BURGESS cut a disappointed figure as Warrington Wolves proved no match for Hull KR in a 32-12 defeat.
The Wolves were second best throughout, trailing at half-time 14-6 before being peppered by a Rovers onslaught in the second-half.
And Burgess believes his Warrington side were holding on from the first minute.
“Losing any semi-final is tough but the manner in which we played, the boys are pretty disappointed,” Burgess said.
“I thought we hung on well, it could have been a lot worse in the first-half but for some courageous defence and great efforts from certain players kept us alive.
“But, we didn’t respect the ball and we paid the price in the end. We weren’t really in the game, we were hanging on.
“We were basically surviving and you can only do that for so long at this level.
“I think we completed at 65 percent which is unheard of from us. I think a lot of good will come from it as a group.
“We’ve had a lot of youth out there and players who haven’t played at this stage. We will take a lot out of that.
“I like where we are. They are a great side and were at full strength. We’ve got a bit of experience missing which we saw a little bit of that.”