Furious Huddersfield Giants coach Paul Anderson questioned why referee Phil Bentham did not refer Danny Brough’s drop goal to video official Ian Smith in the wake of Huddersfield’s dramatic exit from the Tetley’s Challenge Cup on Sunday.
The Giants lost 16-17 to a late Luke Walsh field-goal. But Giants captain Danny Brough was convinced his fourth drop-goal attempt a minute earlier had been successful, only for Bentham to rule it had gone wide.
Anderson vented his rage on a television in the Giants’ media room, pulling it from its socket and leaving it upside down on a table rather than simply turning it off, before letting rip with his post-match press conference.
“It was absolutely over,” he said. “It’s just been shown on TV, hasn’t it? My question is, we go to the video referee for every little decision with regards to points – why couldn’t we go for that?
“We’ve asked the bloke in the van how many times, but when there’s an actual match-deciding moment we don’t bother. We were behind the eight ball all the time and whether we’re getting a fair crack of the whip, I’m not sure. We did enough to win the game.
“If there’s a doubt in any other part of the game, we go to the video referee and ask a question. So why not, when it’s like that?
“Brough’s adamant he’s kicked it. I’ve not seen it yet, but I’ll stick with my captain. He’s telling me it’s gone over. Some of the decisions that have gone out there… oh my word. Sharpy [referees coach Jon Sharp] has got a lot of work to do if you ask me, as have we. All you ask for is a fair crack of the whip, and I’m not sure we’re getting it at the moment.”
