Noble questions commitment

"A lot of people" lacking in effort, reckons Wigan boss

Last updated: 26th July 2008

Brian Noble Wigan Warriors coach (putting some chewing gum in his mouth) Mar 08

Noble: Frustrations

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Brian Noble has questioned the commitment of some of his Wigan players after they again crashed to a home defeat, the Warriors this time going down 34-4 to struggling Huddersfield.

The Warriors were booed off at half-time and full-time after a third successive loss, which further dented their play-off hopes and also handed the Giants their first away win in almost 12 months.

Wigan's bad evening was compounded by the sending-off of Gareth Hock, the Great Britain second-row appearing to manhandle official Ian Smith after a late try was chalked off when the player was held up.

When asked what he thought of his side's performance, Noble replied: "Not a lot. There looked to be a couple of things that might not be football issues when you have a performance like that.

"It was very, very flat. We couldn't catch and we compounded that by not tackling enough.

"We didn't give ourselves a fair share of possession, and it was just disrespectful of the opposition, I thought.

"There are certain things that you have to do to win rugby league games, and we didn't do them.

"I can understand the fans' frustrations and I can understand them booing because it looked like a lot of people weren't giving the kind of effort that is required of a team."

Of the dismissal of Hock, who could be facing a lengthy ban if found guilty, Noble added: "We'll have to look at that."

The Giants had long taken a grip of the game by the time Hock received his marching orders, the visitors inspired by half a dozen ex-Warriors in their ranks, including two-try David Hodgson.

Tries from Hodgson, Paul Whatuira and Darrell Griffin gave them a deserved 18-0 half-time lead, which they extended through Jamahl Lolesi and Ryan Hudson to lead 30-0 approaching the final quarter.

Pat Richards pulled one back for Wigan before Hock saw red - Hodgson's late score rubbing salt into Wigan's wounds.

Giants' delight

Giants joint temporary coach Kieron Purtill was understandably delighted by their performance and believes it was long overdue.

He said: "I thought it was fantastic, and the boys really enjoyed it. A performance like that has been coming now for a few weeks.

"We've been doing it in spells and not carrying it through for the full 80 minutes, but we showed what a quality side we are.

"Individually, the players stood up and did their jobs and it was a fantastic win for us.

"We scored a lot of points which was pleasing but I thought defensively we were heroic at times.

"It's a monkey off our back, and to get our first win at Wigan is a fantastic achievement."