Wigan Warriors coach bemoans Wire loss 'disgrace'

Adrian Lam was choking on a sense of injustice after Wigan's 21-8 defeat at Warrington hinged on a 'disgraceful' refereeing blunder.
Liam Marshall scores the first of his two tries at WarringtonLiam Marshall scores the first of his two tries at Warrington
Liam Marshall scores the first of his two tries at Warrington

Having led 8-6 shortly before the break, Wigan trailed by only six points just after the hour mark when two-try winger Liam Marshall was knocked out after colliding with the foot of Josh Charnley.

After allowing Jake Mamo to pick up the ball and run 80 metres to score, referee Robert Hicks surprisingly gave the try without even consulting the video referee.

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And Lam was having to choose his words very carefully in the aftermath.

"The try down the left-hand side I thought was a disgrace," the Warriors coach assessed.

"I can't believe, given the focus on player welfare at the moment, why the referee wouldn't go to the video.

"He kicked him in the head and knocked him out. That's a penalty.

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"You can't do that. You can't kick a player in the head, and allow the game to continue.

"It was obviously accidental, but it's still a penalty.

"I'm so disappointed that it turned out to be the key moment of the game."

Lam felt there were two parts to the incident, which arose when Bibby stooped to pick up a loose ball, which the official could have stepped in on.

"There's two parts of it, to be honest," he said.

"He may have knocked on in the first instance, so you could end it there and then, which is at the referee's discretion.

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"But the second part of the incident was him getting knocked out, and I'm just disappointed it didn't go upstairs.

"If it was a try, he still could have awarded it - that's what the video is there for.

"It was clear he was knocked out."

With Wigan hosting Leigh on Sunday, the Warriors coach will also have to shuffle his backline to accommodate Marshall's misfortune.

"He's okay, he's up and around," Lam reported. "He failed his HIA, but he was conscious to give it a go.

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"We'll go through the process, but I don't think he'll play on Sunday."

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