Confusion reigns over extra time at end of Warrington-Wigan clash

There was confusion in Warrington at the weekend as their Women’s Super League opener against Wigan ended in a draw.

A late try from hooker Danielle Bound levelled the scores at 22-all and both sides lined up for an extra period after the full-time hooter sounded.

But with the referee and both coaches preparing to decide the game on golden point, an RFL official stepped in to explain the rules in place in the Women’s Super League.

Warrington coach Lee Westwood explained: “The referee thought it was golden point and the coaches thought it was golden point. And then one of the bosses from the RFL came down and said the golden point is only in play-off games. It was all set up and ready to go, but it wasn’t to be.

“The girls were excited to play golden point. Both sides were ready to go. It had to be a draw at the end of the day but the game should be like the men’s, with golden point.

“I think it’s exciting, especially for the fans. We had a massive crowd at Victoria Park, and they were all excited to see golden point and get a winner out of it. I think moving forward to get a winner out of it will be good for the game.”

Golden point: Only in the men’s Super League

Golden point was introduced by the men’s Super League ahead of the 2019, which meant all games ending in a draw after 80 minutes would go on to extra time, comprising of two five-minute periods. The first score in the extra period would earn the winning side two points, and the losers left with nothing.

Marc Sneyd scored the first golden point, kicking a drop goal as Hull beat Wigan 23-22 in February 2019.

The NRL has had golden point extra time in place since 2003, and this year’s World Club Challenge was decided by golden point, kicked by Lewis Dodd for St Helens against Penrith Panthers.

At present, golden point extra time is only in place in the Men’s Super League for regular season games – it is not used in the other professional leagues (Championship and League 1) or in the community game.

It had been introduced to the Championship and League 1 ahead of the 2020 season, but with a twist – the losing team after extra time would still secure one competition point, with the winners earning the standard two.

But it was scrapped after the season was cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Batley earned the first ever ‘bonus point’ for a draw when they were beaten 19-18 at home by Sheffield after golden point extra time in March 2020.

There have been calls to revert back to the standard draw after the 80 minute, but also to change the format of golden point so that drop goals do not count.

Wolves bridge massive gap to women’s elite level

For now, it largely remains a way of deciding games in knockout competitions, such as the Challenge Cup or play-offs.

It meant that in their Women’s Super League elite level debut, Warrington had to settle for a point against Wigan.

The Wolves had led 16-6 at half-time thanks to tries from Sammy Simpson, Armani Sharrock and Emily Baggaley.

But Wigan fought back through Anna Davies and Eva Hunter to edge in front, and Beri Salihi increased their lead to 22-16 before Bound’s late converted score looked to have triggered extra time.

Despite the draw, it was a pleasing opening hit out for Warrington who have made the step up to the elite Women’s Super League level, which Westwood admits is a huge step up from what they were used to in the second group last season.

Westwood added: “There’s a massive gap. The girls seen that with the pace of the game, and the physicality as well.

“It was a very good game. A local derby for the first game. I thought the girls did really well and unfortunately we only came up with a draw but there’s lots of learning from it.

“We trained last year to be playing in Super League, so training has been tough all the way through last year which we saw through results and performances. First half we stuck to the game plan and we came in at half time feeling confident. Second half with the pace of the game and a few errors, they came back. The good thing for us is we showed a bit of resilience and then fought back and got a draw.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve been used to putting a lot of points on teams, so we haven’t really been in a situation where we’ve been going set for sets, and it shows a lot of confidence and shows character that they can stand in there and they can fight back and work hard in those close games.

“You don’t win any trophies in the first two games, but it has given the girls lots of confidence moving forward to get some consistency now through the Challenge Cup.”

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Watch: Incredible two-point drop goal in vain as champs go down in golden point extra time