Brad Arthur rues Warrington penalty as Leeds Rhinos denied Grand Final place
Leeds head coach Brad Arthur criticised the “soft” penalty that cost his side the chance to reach next week’s Betfred Super League Grand Final after a heartbreaking 14-12 semi-final defeat to Warrington at Headingley.
Referee Chris Kendall awarded what turned out to be the visitors’ match-winning penalty with just under a quarter of an hour remaining after James McDonnell was ruled to have obstructed George Williams in pursuit of a high ball.
Ewan Irwin duly kicked the only points of the second period and Warrington held out against a heroic and injury-ravaged Rhinos to reach the sport’s showpiece for the first time since 2018.
Arthur said: “I haven’t whinged or complained the whole time I’ve been here, but it would have been nice if the game had been decided by an individual piece of skill instead of a soft penalty to decide such a big game.
“I don’t want James McDonnell bearing the brunt of this because he did nothing wrong. His eyes were on the ball the whole way and he doesn’t initiate contact.
“We had four (similar incidents) on Ned (McCormack) and I didn’t even want a penalty for those. The fact the referee took so long to decide whether it was a penalty or not showed he wasn’t sure. (It’s harsh) to give a penalty away in such a big game with 15 minutes to go.”
Arthur paid tribute to his injury-hit side, who were already without Lachlan Miller, Ash Handley and Maika Sivo then were forced to reshuffle again when Chris Hankinson was injured in the warm-up, meaning young brothers Fergus and Ned McCormack would start in a Super League game for the first time.
“We backed the young blokes and they were outstanding,” added Arthur. “The scramble and desire was fantastic.
“Sport is tough and it’s character-building, and we’ve got to move on from it. But it’s disappointing we are not sitting here talking about an individual winning the game.”
Warrington boss Sam Burgess shrugged off the penalty controversy but fell short of giving his full backing to the call, admitting: “Some of them are hard to pick. Some of it’s soft, but by the letter of the law, when you slow it down and freeze-frame it, it’s a penalty.”
Burgess went on to praise Williams’ contribution since returning having missed the first half of the season due to injury, and believes it is no coincidence that his side managed to finish the regular campaign on a high.
“I thought it was a great game, an old-fashioned contest,” added Burgess. “We have found a way to keep turning up and competing for each other, and I’m really proud of the team.
“In the last couple of months George has really added something. He leads from the front with his actions and when he decides to do something special he’s pretty hard to stop.
“They (his team-mates) all feel lighter and freer and can express themselves more as well. They are hard weeks to get to this point and it gets to the point where we can put our best foot forward.”
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