The Wakefield coach described the match as “carnage”, “crazy” and “mad”.
Wakefield coach Daryl Powell.
Daryl Powell described Wakefield’s match against Hull KR as “carnage”, “crazy” and “mad” in a game that delivered drama from start to finish.
A late Mason Lino try secured Wakefield a 26-24 victory, with the playmaker converting his own score to seal the two Super League points on offer.
The game included two sin-bins, two red cards and plenty of controversy, but Wakefield showed character in abundance to score in the 79th minute.
Lino and Joe Burgess were first sin-binned in the opening half after an altercation, before Matty Storton and Sauaso Sue were shown red cards in the second period. The Wakefield back-rower, who scored against his former club, was first given his marching orders for high contact on James Batchelor, before Sue was dismissed just minutes later for a swinging arm on Tray Lolesio.
But Powell believed referee Aaron Moore needed calming down and even sent messages to his own touchline staff in an attempt to get that message across.
“It was a crazy game. The first half was mad,” said Powell.
“The referee lost his cool, and I feel like that had an impact on his decision-making.
“I sent a message down to try to calm the referee down if we could. The game was just carnage, and there were a couple of decisions that I couldn’t get my head around. We put him [Hiku] into touch, he never stopped moving, and they scored on the back of it.
“The second half, I thought, was mental. We didn’t handle it very well until the back end, which was class execution.”
Powell also felt Storton’s sending-off was harsh, with a stoppage in play leading to a video referee review.
“The first one for Matty Storton looks like a video referee call. It’s not a send-off for me,” Powell continued.
“I’ll have to have a look back. I’ve seen the replays, but I need to look at it in a little more detail. It doesn’t appear to me that he strikes him in the head.
“I can’t understand that. I don’t think people are getting sent off for those. That was surprising.
“It is what it is. Thankfully for us, we managed to win the game on an emotional day and pull something out of it. Hull KR did a great job coming out of it. They were super competitive, got after us and looked good enough to win it until the end. I’m pleased we were good enough to win it.”
The fixture also paid tribute to John Kear ahead of kick-off, with the rugby league icon sadly passing away earlier this week.
“I think John would have liked that,” Powell said.
“It was a tough game. To win it in the way we did was probably fitting of the day as a whole.”