SAM Burgess has slammed the decision to dock Warrington Wolves an interchange during their victory over Hull FC.
It emerged as the game was kicking off that The Wire had been told they could only use seven substitutes as opposed to the usual eight due to a discrepancy with the submission of their 21-man squad.
Second-rower Adam Holroyd, who was named on the bench and came on during the second half as Warrington won 24-6 at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, was the player in question, with Burgess conducting an animated post-match interview with Sky Sports about the situation post-match.
That continued in his post-match press conference with the written media, where he seemed to infer a complaint from the Black and Whites prompted the decision.
Watch what Burgess had to say in full below
Burgess insisted "common sense" should have prevailed after what he admitted had been a "mess up" somewhere along the line.
"I’ve got to get some more information before I say too much. I was pretty animated on Sky after the game," he said,
"I was told I was losing a substitution and I couldn’t understand why.
"I’d done my process exactly the same as I do every week, I named my 21 earlier in the week and it got sent in – you all got it, didn’t you?
"Everyone else got it except the RFL, Hull complained and I lost a sub. They said Adam Holroyd wasn’t in the 21.
"It’s just not good enough. It’s actually not good enough.
"There was an option to give us our sub back because there was a mess-up, but some choices were made not to do that.
"I don’t know what we’re trying to do – we’ve got all these protocols around player safety, player welfare and health and we’re all concerned about it until someone gets a chance to get one up on the other team.
"Where’s the common sense in that? Is it asking too much for a bit of common sense?
"If the shoe was on the other foot, common sense should prevail in my eyes and we should always make decisions that are best for the players. It’s that simple."
Sky's cameras also captured a spat in the tunnel between Burgess and Hull's director of rugby Richie Myler, with the pair barging into each other as they headed in opposite directions.
Looks like it wasn't just the players getting heated this evening 👀 pic.twitter.com/DXrNP5AbkT
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) May 3, 2024
When asked about the incident, Burgess said: "It’s a very small corridor.
"He made some smart comment as I was walking past him and there was really no need to do that.
"I get he’s new in the job and so am I but the game is done now."
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