Powell accuses Hull coach Cartwright of influencing ref

Daryl Powell is in his second season leading Wakefield

Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell has accused Hull FC counterpart John Cartwright of putting pressure on referee James Vella at half-time during their Super League meeting on Thursday.

Wakefield were leading 10-0 at the interval at MKM Stadium before the hosts came back in the second half to win 16-10.

It was Hull's first home win of the season and saw them leapfrog Trinity into the sixth and final play-off spot.

Powell says that his team deserved to lose, but he was unhappy at the behaviour of his Hull counterpart.

"John's not been aggressive to anyone, he's just said some words in earshot," he said. "It just shouldn't work."

'Referee flipped decision-making'

Victory would have seen Wakefield open up a three-point cushion over their opponents in sixth.

They were on course to do that after opening up a 10-point advantage, but three tries in 10 minutes changed the outcome as Hull won at home for the first time in almost 12 months.

It led to Powell questioning how the flow of the game was altered after what he believed were comments made to the match official during the break.

"There was an influence on the referee," he said. "I just thought the game completely flipped.

"I've seen an influence on the referee in the tunnel first half. I've done that in the past. It just shouldn't work and I think it worked.

"The referee completely flipped his decision-making. We got no penalties in the second half, I'm not sure they got any in the first half. It probably should have been a little bit more even either way.

"Did that have an influence on the game? I think it had an influence. Is it the main one? I just don't think we handled the second half well."

'I did not say a word'

When asked about Powell's comments, Cartwright insisted he had done nothing wrong.

"Did Daryl say that? He's one to talk!" the Australian told BBC Radio Humberside.

"I didn't influence the referee, I didn't talk to the referee. I did not say a word."

But when questioned about whether he had made comments in the tunnel, Cartwright replied: "That's a different story.

"We didn't get anything go our way in the first half. We didn't get a penalty, we didn't get a six-to-go.

"I was questioning our players about fighting in the ruck as we were walking up the tunnel."

A Super League spokesperson said their "compliance team will look into this on Monday" following the completion of the weekend's fixtures.