CASTLEFORD TIGERS went down 26-20 to Wigan Warriors in heartbreaking fashion at The Jungle.
The Tigers were leading 20-18 with seven minutes to go, but a late flurry of eight Wigan points consigned Danny McGuire’s men to another defeat.
But McGuire was positive after the final whistle, saying: “I’m really disappointed with the result but I am really proud of some of the things that the players did.
“We had some moments where we lost the moments and the last play of the game is why Jai Field gets paid the big bucks.”
Most of the focus was, however, on the refereeing decisions during the game – including a controversial Captain’s Challenge decision that saw Harry Smith pull back Josh Simm, only for the video official Aaron Moore to decide there was not enough contact.
Now McGuire has gone in on some of the calls.
“I’m going to whinge because we never get anything. Sometimes you get the home advantage but we don’t.
“Some of the decisions tonight were pathetic. Bring back some older guys like Steve Ganson, Richard Silverwood and Russell Smith.
“They had guts about them – they didn’t get everything right but they had guts.
“They can fine me and I’ll pay them back a pound a week. It’s consistently not good enough – I’m not bothered.
“The RFL fob you off with pointless answers so it’s a waste of time asking about the issues.”
McGuire also reflected on some of the injury issues suffered by the Tigers during the game.
“Alex Mellor got a decent bang on his knee. He strapped it and got on with it. That’s what your senior players do.
“Zac Cini strapped his ankle and kept going. He’s been really good for us. I’m going to sing his praises, he’s in a position that he hasn’t played much in recent times but he is trying his best.”
So why were Innes Senior and Rowan Milnes absent?
“Innes hurt his ankle in training. Tom Amone was really poorly and put his hand up and didn’t want to let the boys down.
“Rowan was my toughest decision. I’ve got a really good relationship with him but I felt we needed to change things up there. It was tactical.”