9 hours ago
Everything Sam Burgess said after another damaging Wire defeat
Sam Burgess watched his Warrington Wolves side fall to their seventh defeat in nine Super League games (Image: Alex Whitehead/
SAM Burgess admitted Warrington Wolves got exactly what they deserved from their clash with Huddersfield Giants – nothing.
Although he was critical of aspects of referee James Vella's performance – particularly the penalising of Jordy Crowther in the lead up to the Giants' second try – he offered no excuses for what his side dished up on the field.
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The Wire's 24-16 defeat at The Halliwell Jones Stadium was their seventh in nine matches and with fans booing the team off at full-time, the heat is starting to turn up on Burgess and his players.
Here is everything the Wire boss said in his post-match press conference…
Q: Your thoughts on the game and your side's performance first please, Sam?
SB: It's a disappointing result.
We didn't deserve to win – we got what we deserved.
Q: You seemed to make most of the early running in the game but then conceded a breakaway try and another off a penalty – is that symptomatic of how things are falling for you at the minute?
SB: Sometimes when it's not going your way, it's tough and you have to work extra hard.
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The intercept try is tough because it looks like points our way, but then we couldn't quite run them down.
The penalty before the second try – I'm still bemused by it. He said it was late contact but I'm not sure what's late about that.
It was a kick pressure and there's so many of them in the game – it had some force in the tackle but he tackled him.
In terms of every bit of guidance – the minimal you do get from the game – it was textbook kick pressure.
The game was two hours long today and the control of the game was completely lost in areas.
I'm not complaining or saying that's why we lost the game, but I don't think it's good enough for this level.
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Q: Jordy Crowther was involved in that and another incident with Taane Milne on half time that went on report – have you been made any clearer about that?
SB: There was a complaint about eye-gouging.
I don't really understand it so I'm just going to be quiet. We'll see what happens.
Q: You tried to fight back late – at any point did you think you were on to bring it back?
SB: I don't like to live in a world of ifs and buts.
We weren't good enough and we didn't deserve to win – it's as simple as that.
We worked hard in areas and we did control the game with a lot of stuff, but not enough – we had too many one-on-one misses and big moments are getting the better of us.
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Q: It's seven defeats in nine Super League games now – clearly a difficult run. What is causing it? Do you look at the injuries taking their toll on those left or is it something deeper that needs to be fixed and if so, how do you fix it?
SB: I can't really use any excuses and I don't like using them.
We just weren't good enough today – we had enough out there to win the game but for whatever reason, we didn't.
Q: Where do you go from here in terms of the rest of your season? Can it be turned round and how do you go about doing so?
SB: We've got to work hard.
We've turned things up and we're working hard, but we've got to work a little bit harder still.
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We've got stuff to work on – one-and-one stuff and other moments – and the only way we're going to get through it is by working harder. That's not going to stop.
Q: You named Toby King on the wing today as you did last week – what's the thinking behind that?
SB: He played there last week and it's just what I've got.
I think Wrenchy is a centre so based on what we have, I thought Kingy was our best option on the wing.
Q: Judging by the reaction at full time, there's clearly a lot of fans out there who are struggling to see a way forward for you and your team. What would your response to them be?
SB: That's a good question.
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I don't really need to say too many words about that. Our actions have to help them see a way forward.
We can only fix that by moving forward, getting some work done and getting some better performances out there.
Q: The next few games coming up – how crucial are they for you?
SB: I'm not looking any further than review tomorrow.
We've got a bit of stuff to do so we can't get caught up in that – we have to focus on what we need to do to get better, and then how we're going to do that.
Q: Do you feel like because a lot of these players are playing in combinations they won't have envisaged, does that make it more difficult for it to improve?
SB: I don't agree – it's their jobs to adapt.
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The season is so long and everyone goes through it. We're not the only team going through it.
It's their job to adapt and it's my job to coach the team to be better. And we've got to be much better – there's no doubt about that.
Q: Do you think there was nervousness around the group? The outside noise from fans was that this was a game that, if they turned up properly, they would win – did that creep through?
SB: Not with me and it shouldn't with anyone.
Noise is noise but it's relatively quiet here compared with what I'm used to.
Players really should be educated enough to understand they have to get their jobs done.
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Q: You mentioned there were a lot of one-on-one misses – is that a confidence thing in part?
SB: Potentially – you could see a little bit of that.
There's a lot of ball on the ground, poor skill and hesitation and that's confidence.
You've got to try and make it work for you and the moment, it's not. We've got to find a way to relax ourselves.
Q: How do you improve that confidence?
SB: I wish I knew the answer.
We've got to get back to what works for us. It sounds nuts because we lost the game but there were parts of our game I liked.
We were in control early in the game but had a breakaway try and then on the back of a good defensive set, we get penalised for a kick pressure. The ball went out on the full but in that set, we get scored on.
We've got to be better defensively in that set but that's the first 12 points.
Then we're playing catch-up and it makes it a tough day for us.
