Sam Burgess was angry at the circumstances that led to a change being imposed on Warrington Wolves ahead of their 24-6 win over Hull FC in the Betfred Super League on Friday.
Wolves were reduced to seven changes for the game after Adam Holroyd was named on the interchange bench but not named in the 21-man squad list sent to the RFL earlier this week.
Burgess, who was involved in a tunnel dispute with Black and Whites director of rugby Richie Myler after the game, was outraged by the decision, as Holroyd was publicly represented by Warrington in Round 21 on Wednesday, and protested against the decision Loss of a substitution Failure of player welfare.
“I don’t know, it was poor management by someone,” Burgess said Sky Sports. “We have named a 21-man squad, it is on our social media and public so we have to get it right.”
“We talk about concussions and protecting our players. Well, tonight you failed. Someone needs to be held accountable for this.”
“We had to make a decision before the game and we didn’t make the right decision for the players. If it had been the other way around, I would still have made the right decision for the player.”
“We live in this world now, so let’s all get involved. What else do we do?”
Under rugby league’s Squad Declaration System, which was changed before the 2020 season, if a player who was not part of the 21-man squad named two days before a midday game subsequently loses one of its eight players, his team will forfeit one of its eight players will be called into the matchday squad.
Burgess claimed it was a complaint from Hull FC about Holroyd’s inclusion in Warrington’s matchday squad that led to the match commissioner applying the rule that resulted in them canceling a substitution.
“My 21 was sent in earlier in the week,” Burgess said in his postgame press conference. “Everyone got it except the RFL, so Hull complained and I lost a sub before the game.”
“It’s just not good enough. There was a mess, but I don’t know what we want to do.”
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Highlights of the Super League game between Warrington Wolves and Hull FC.
“We have all these protocols around player safety, but if anyone gets the chance to bring one to the other team, where is the common sense in that?”
Burgess and Myler were later shown in a brief but heated exchange in the tunnel after the game, which Warrington won thanks to a hat-trick from Josh Thewlis.
“It’s a very small corridor,” Burgess said of the incident in his postgame press conference. “As I walked past he made a wise comment. He really doesn’t need that.”
“I understand that he is new to the job – so am I. But the game is over, it’s over now. Let’s move on.”
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