Hunslet coach shrugs off drop goal controversy
Photo courtesy of Richard Long
Hunslet coach Gary Thornton has shrugged off controversy surrounding their drop goal victory over North Wales on Sunday, saying they had a perfectly good try chalked off.
Video replays show that Joe Sanderson’s match-winning drop goal fell below the crossbar, but it was awarded by referee Andy Sweet, earning Hunslet a 19-18 win.
It has led to North Wales chief executive Andy Moulsdale issuing a statement asking for a review of the incident.
?STATEMENT: #NWCrusaders CEO Andy Mousldale has called on the RFL to review the decision on Hunslet's last minute winning drop-goal which fell beneath the bar during Sunday's game.
Read Here ? https://t.co/6cWWQ7KoHy#AchieveTogether pic.twitter.com/ntiayOEuZx
— Nth Wales Crusaders (@NWCrusadersRL) July 3, 2018
But speaking after the match, Thornton said: “It went over because the referee said it went over.
“I was more disappointed about the disallowed try. That was a try. I don’t see where the referee or the touch judges have got the decisions to make, because for me the ball’s been reached and we’ve scored over the try line.
“The referee gave the try but the touch judge didn’t, you can look at it both ways, but I thought we were hard done to by that disallowed try to be honest.”
The win was Hunslet’s seventh consecutive win, which has lifted them up to third in the table ahead of a trip to Workington this Sunday.