McNamara seals win with match-clincher

Aug 25 2003 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Huddersfield Giants 26 - 14 Wakefield Wildcats. Referee blasted as Giants claim points

IT may have been scrappy, it may not have been convincing and it may go down as a match marred by the refereeing of Robert Connolly.

Yet it still brought the Giants two more precious Super League points in their bid to reach the top six play-offs.

At the end of the day that has to be the main priority.

But the nature of this stop-start contest ensured the vast majority of the Giants faithful in a hugely disappointing crowd of just 3,621 went home feeling short-changed.

They had witnessed a thoroughly frustrating 80 minutes in which the Giants gave possession away far too cheaply and far too often, and their opponents had produced a spirited display which belied the fact they had nothing but pride to play for between now and the season's end.

However, it was the way the match was handled by referee Connolly which, unfortunately, emerged as the major talking point in all the post-match conversations.

Overall, the game of rugby league is in a healthy state, but the massive influence a referee can have on the development of a match remains an area of major concern.

Yesterday's game was a prime example.

At the start of the second half, for instance, Connolly awarded Wakefield seven penalties in succession - at least five of which were debatable.

Then after receiving instructions from his referee in the stand, he clearly tried to redress the balance by starting to award Huddersfield the vast majority of the penalties.