LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens criticized the sin-binning of Lewis Murphy during Saturday's Super League Magic Weekend match against Leeds, labeling it "ridiculous" and "flabbergasting." Addressing his side's 17-4 defeat, he highlighted the incident as a crucial turning point in the game.
Murphy was sent off in the 61st minute while contesting a high ball with Alfie Edgell, with the score at 10-4.
Wellens expressed his disbelief, stating, "I thought it was ridiculous, to be quite honest with you.
Lewis Murphy goes up and contests the ball.
He's got eyes for one thing and one thing only, and that's the ball." He drew a parallel to a previous incident involving Jake Wingfield, who had been knocked out cold in a Challenge Cup match, which was deemed an accident.
He questioned the inconsistency in the officiating, asking, "What's the difference between that and this here tonight?"
He felt that the sin-binning shifted momentum significantly, resulting in Leeds scoring shortly after to increase their lead to 11-4.
Concluding his remarks, Wellens reiterated his stance on the decision, stating, "So, yeah, I thought it was a ridiculous call."