Smith: Players left confused by referee

Warrington coach Tony Smith says his players need to change their style when referee James Child takes charge of their games.

The Wolves hung on to an 18-16 win over Hull on Sunday, their first win in Super League 2014, in what Smith described as a scrappy game, with a Stefan Ratchford penalty on the stroke of half-time proving the difference.

Smith said: “It was a tough old game played in tough conditions. I thought we controlled it pretty well for much of the game. We had a few moments, slip ups here and there, but it was a big improvement again.

“It was always going to be a scrappy game. When James (Child) controls games, the ruck area is always going to be scrappy, and slow and inconsistent. 

“You just get confused. Players get confused as to what they can and can’t do.

“I’m not having a pop at him. That’s just reality. Everybody knows it. That’s an area we need to work on, to understand that better for when we have him in control of our games in future.”

Tries from Ratchford, Trent Waterhouse and Ben Evans helped Warrington to an 18-6 half-time lead, but they went scoreless in the second half, only holding on to victory due to a missed conversion attempt by Ben Crooks in the second half, as Hull hit-back with tries from Tom Lineham and Fetuli Talanoa.