It was not a good look for Super League.
Hull FC winger Harvey Barron. (Image: SW PIX)
Andy Last has taken issue with a big Hull FC no-try call in defeat to Castleford Tigers on Friday night – not to mention the messy captains’ challenges, slow ruck speed and no working clock or big screen.
The Black and Whites were beaten 18-14 by the West Yorkshire side in what was a real scrappy and ugly watch at the MKM Stadium, with the decision to disallow a length-of-the-field effort from Harvey Barron going under the microscope.
Unknown to Barron and the Castleford chasers at the time, the closest of which was Tom Weaver, referee James Vella had already blown for a penalty after Joe Batchelor was deemed to have made a late hit on Daejarn Asi after he passed the ball, with Barron intercepting the next pass and sprinting to the try line. But Last believes there was nothing Batchelor could have done to avoid contact and has taken aim at the decision.
“The Harvey Barron no try, I don’t know what Batch can do there,” Last said post-match. “He comes up, pressures the ball player, and the ball player goes into the line, and he two hand touches him as he goes down.
“He wasn’t trying to milk a penalty; he throws the pass, and Harvey Barron intercepts and goes, and then Batch gets pulled back for that late hit on the tackler. I just don’t know what he’s meant to do. That’s something that they need to have a look at.”
Last also had no issues with the Liam Hood try that proved to be the match winner – but has vented frustrations after a similar try for Herman Ese’ese was disallowed at St Helens.
“It was as clear as Herman Ese’ese’s last week,” the interim coach said. “We got all the camera angles and you could see the ball on the whitewash. That was poor defence from us.
“Hood definitely scored, but last week Herman definitely scored. The inconsistency kills us. Not only from the referee, but also from us as a team – our inconsistency kills us.”
On the no-clock and big screen, with confusion apparent throughout the match from players, coaches, and supporters alike, Last continued: “I wish I could answer. It’s frustrating for everyone and it has happened on too many occasions.
“It was a very chaotic game. It’d have been nice for the referee to have a little bit of support from the video referee, as I don’t think it was his best game tonight. I was disappointed with some of the decisions. There were too many that I felt that went against us.”
On captain’s challenges, with no working screen providing clarity for the crowd, Last also vented his frustrations. He said: “Nobody knows what’s going on, me included. I don’t know what they are challenging for. That connection between what’s going on on the pitch and the supporters wasn’t there. It made it all a horrible watch.”