WARRINGTON WOLVES somehow left the Leigh Sports Village empty-handed last night following a 20-16 loss to Leigh Leopards.
The Wolves were up 16-8 as the clock went past the 70-minute mark, but two late Leigh tries saw Sam Burgess’ beaten at the death.
And Burgess couldn’t hide his disappointment after the game: “I thought it was a great game, I thought it was really intense.
“The first half especially was really fast, both sides played a good style. The second half was equally the same. It was a really good contest.
“I thought our game was much better, we looked much more like ourselves. I think the break has been good for us.
“They’re a great side and threw a lot of shape at us in the back 15 minutes. We probably didn’t handle it as well as we should have, but I thought we kept turning up.
“I’m very proud of them, very proud of the team.
“I didn’t feel like we deserved to lose it, really. I felt like we did enough to win. I’m disappointed we lost, but I’m really proud of them for staying at the plan, for staying together.
“A couple of moments we could have taken better, the disallowed try with the obstruction, those small moments we can just be a little bit better in them, we should ice a few games.”
There was a moment of contention towards the latter stages of the game when Toby King had a try disallowed for a knock-on before Leigh’s Umyla Hanley dotted down just 60 seconds later.
On reflection, Burgess said: “I’m not allowed to talk about it, so unless I say anything nice, I’m not allowed to say anything. So maybe it’s a phone call that you need to make somewhere else, because I’m bound by rules.
“I can’t comment really, I’m not allowed to say anything. So maybe it’s a conversation that you can have with people who are in charge there. Because when I tell my truth or what I see to be the truth, it sometimes upsets people.”
The Wolves boss did name Ryan Matterson as a debutant, with the ex-Parramatta Eels forward playing 55 minutes and impressing in the middle.
“He’s slotted in really well. During the week, he’s a wonderful character. He’s a great lad. Obviously, he’s got a bit of presence. He’s played a number of games over there and played at origin level, so he knows how to handle himself.
“But I thought his involvements were very good today, considering it’s his first game and he’s thrown at the deep end a bit, so he’s only going to improve.”