Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane attempted to play down the controversy involving referee Joe Cobb during Thursday night’s win against Huddersfield.
Warriors captain John Bateman appeared to confront Cobb at half-time of the match at the DW Stadium, which the Warriors eventually won 26-19.
It later emerged that Bateman was speaking to Cobb about the ruck speed during the game, and in the second half, two Huddersfield players were sent to the sin bin.
Anderson called the officiating a “disgrace”, but Wane said with the slow rucks an issue, he had no issue with Bateman speaking to the official – something he is allowed to do.
“He’s allowed to speak to the referee,” Wane said. “It was obvious, we were losing a second-and-a-half every ruck and he just wanted to verify that.”
Bateman also came in for praise by Wane for his overall performance, with fellow Wigan star Matty Smith also getting acclaim from the Wigan coach.
“John’s our captain,” he said. “He’s very young but acts like a 40-year-old. He fits in here because he’s very competitive. He’s desperate to win everything and they demonstrated that spirit to get the win.
“I thought Matty guided us around the park. With no George (Williams) or Lockers, he’s under a lot of pressure on every single play but he’s doing a very good job.”
