Sunday 4 August 2019 19:19, UK
Hull KR coach Tony Smith compared veteran half-back Danny McGuire to Australian cricketer Steve Smith after he clinched a dramatic 27-26 win over Castleford.
The 36-year-old's big-time experience was key as Rovers came from 26-14 down to draw level after 80 minutes and, after creating the first scoring opportunity in extra time with a 40-20 kick, he struck the match-winning drop goal.
Smith, who coached McGuire at Leeds, accused both him and skipper Joel Tomkins of becoming distracted in the first half by constantly engaging in dialogue with referee Chris Kendall.
"I was angry with Joel and Danny," Smith said. "I just thought their focus was in the wrong area.
"There was too much time spent talking with the referee, which was not helping our chances, it wasn't helping us gain any rapport with him.
"I had to let them know they had to stop it or they would spend time talking to me instead of the ref.
"But in the second half they made things happen for themselves and Danny came up with a couple of big plays.
"He's a bit like Steve Smith in that champions shine every now and then. Top-class sportsmen step up in those moments when the rest of us struggle in those pressured situations.
"To come up with a 40-20 and then the field goal straight away was smart play."
McGuire, who is retiring at the end of the season, conceded the criticism from his coach was merited.
"It's more arm gestures than anything," he said. "It's something I've always done and sometimes it gets me annoyed with myself. He was right to have a go."
McGuire, who was surprised and relieved to see Castleford's Peter Mata'utia miss with a straightforward penalty that could have decided the result before extra-time, charged down an attempted drop goal from Jake Trueman during the frenzied finale.
"It could quite easily have gone away from us when they went two scores in front but we stuck in there," he said.
"I was thinking of a drop goal after the 40-20 but I was also thinking if I miss it after first tackle I would look a right idiot.
"It's a really important two points, we will get a lot of confidence from it."
With bottom club London Broncos losing at home to Salford, Rovers are two points clear of danger with five matches left to play while Castleford drop out of the top five after experiencing a second golden-point away defeat of the season.
Castleford boss Daryl Powell, who also coached McGuire at the Rhinos, was full of praise for the former England international.
"He's been a fantastic player," Powell said. "I coached him at U19s so I know all about him. He's had an awesome career, I've enjoyed watching him play."
Powell was disappointed over his side's inability to make the most of their match-winning position.
"How do we not win that game," he said. "It's crazy.
"I thought they were pretty smart in extra-time but we should have won it in normal time.
"We roll from the sublime to the ridiculous and that was ridiculous today, to concede 13 points without reply, we're a frustrating team at the moment.
"There was a lack of composure and nous at the end from different players."
