'He brushed me aside' - Williams on the try that broke Wire hearts
GEORGE Williams says referee Liam Moore 'brushed aside' his initial protests about the try that condemned Warrington Wolves to defeat in the Challenge Cup Final.
Now, though, he says his thoughts were about ensuring youngster Arron Lindop – the Wire player directly involved in the incident – responds positively.
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As The Wire closed in on a famous Wembley victory, Hull KR half Tyrone May kicked in behind Lindop who struggled to get the ball dead under pressure from Peta Hiku, allowing Tom Davies to touch the ball down.
Replays appeared to show Lindop grounded the ball with his torso, which head coach Sam Burgess insisted post-match should have seen a goal-line drop-out awarded, before Davies touched down, but video referee Jack Smith awarded the try and Mikey Lewis' conversion sealed an 8-6 victory for the Robins.
Williams says he protested at the time that Lindop had made the ball dead but that Moore paid no attention.
'I said to the ref and a couple of staff have Googled the rules and it says you can ground with your torso,' he said after the game.
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'That was what I said on the field but the ref brushed me aside.
'If that is the rule, it's a shocking way to lose.
'Young Arron Lindop's devastated in there but he'll be fine – he's got 10-15 years of this and I'm sure he'll be back.
'I gave him a hug, told him we all loved him and that we have his back.
'He's going to be a superstar of our game – I really believe that. He'll be back but sometimes you've got to lose one to win one.'
Williams' early return from ankle surgery to lead Warrington out dominated the build-up to the final after he had missed his side's previous seven games.
He believes he has come through unscathed but having lost a Wembley final for the third time, his pain is more mental than physical.
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Williams was returning from seven weeks out following ankle surgery (Image: Ed Sykes/SWpix.com) 'I was cramping at the end – I've not played for a while so I was battling for the last 20 minutes,' he said.
'I was just happy to be out there. We did well for 77 minutes but it wasn't enough.
'There's a lot of heartbreak. To concede like that is heartbreaking to say the least.
'You've got to give some credit to Hull KR but for us, to be leading for so much of the game but concede at the back end is disappointing.
'We got in the grind, we got behind Sneydy's kicking game and he kicked them to death, but there was the moment at the end there – probably a couple when we got repeat sets.
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'The last one where if we catch that ball, we probably go on to win the game.
'I'm sick of losing here to be honest so hopefully next time, I'll win one.'
Williams' half-back partner Marc Sneyd delivered a masterful kicking display in soggy conditions and with Warrington set for victory, he was overwhelmingly voted as the winner of the Lance Todd Trophy for the game's player of the match.
Despite ending up on the losing side, he picks up the trophy for the third time in his career and Williams was full of praise for the scrum-half.
'He was brilliant today,' he said.
'It was perfect weather for Marc Sneyd to show us exactly how good he is and he did exactly that.
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'I thought if he'd have won the Lance Todd, we'd have won but obviously that wasn't the case.
'The one positive is once we reflect a little bit, we'll realise we've got a good team here and we can push for the finals.
'Hull KR know we're a good team now too and we'll get some belief that we're a top team.'
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