Ryan Brierley’s sin-bin was harsh, says Tony Smith
Hull KR coach Tony Smith believed referee Chris Kendall should not have sin-binned Ryan Brierley in their loss to Castleford.
The Robins led 8-6 against the Tigers at half-time but Daryl Powell’s side scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to claim a 22-8 victory at Hull College Craven Park on Thursday evening.
Hull KR half-back Brierley was sin-binned at the start of the second half for holding Grant Millington back from chasing a kick.
Smith said: “I thought the sin-bin was harsh, after watching the replay I don’t think it was a penalty.
“Two players are allowed to contest the ball and push with their shoulders. Obviously Chris saw it differently, maybe that rule’s been changed.
“We can’t afford to have people off the park, we need 13 fit and healthy players on the field if we are going to compete with teams.
“I thought we were the better team for the first 23 minutes, after that I thought Cas were. I thought they were good in the second half and the last part of the first half.
“It was good experience for us, there’s lot of fight in our players. They were holding people up over the try line and showing their effort.”
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