Gentle blames Airlie Birds for loss, not the referee

Peter Gentle is refusing to blame referee Steve Ganson for his side’s loss to Hull KR.

However the Airlie Birds coach did blast the official for a forward pass to Michael Dobson that set up the thrilling finale, before David Hodgson sealed the win for the Robins.

Gentle said: “The Dobson try was farcical, it really was. It was so far forward, but what can you do about it?

“You are going to get your tough calls, your wrong calls and your bad calls, but we have to be better at finishing a team off. To be 14 points up with 12 minutes left and not win the game is not good enough and we have to be better than that.”

Gentle saw his side go from leading the match 30-16 to lose 32-30 on the eve of the Magic Weekend’s first day.

Gentle was also furious with his side for not taking advantage of the amount of possession the Black and Whites had in the second half.

He said: “Rugby League is a game of possession and we didn’t have any. We had just 12 sets in the second half and we conceded six penalties without receiving any. 

“We scored 30 points and that should be enough to win any game, but we knew Hull KR would be dangerous with the ball and we gave them too many opportunities.”

Gentle now wants his side to show a bit more passion for the Hull FC shirt, and insists his side will benefit from the loss in the long term.

He said: “It is okay turning up in terms of effort, but we have to be smarter than that. We squandered it, but if we don’t learn anything from today’s game it’s pointless pulling on a jersey next week. 

“We will learn from this though and we will be better. It shouldn’t be too hard to get the boys up for the game next week against St Helens and we have to improve.”