Daryl Powell: Wakefield Trinity boss says captain’s challenge must be abolished

Captain’s challenge was introduced to Super League games for 2025 and allows teams to contest a referee’s decision at a stoppage in play. Teams are allowed one unsuccessful challenge per game.

The system was first introduced in Australia’s National Rugby League in 2020 with the aim of reducing the impact of an incorrect refereeing decision on the outcome of a match.

During Saturday’s fixture, however, some incidents needed lengthy assessment on review.

Peta Hiku thought he had grounded the ball for a late Hull KR try which would have won his side the game, only to have his effort chalked off after a lengthy review by Rush which painstakingly assessed multiple angles.

Meanwhile, the Robins used their captain’s challenge late on to assess a high tackle, something which Powell said was a tactical decision.

“I can’t tell you how many times he looked at that Hiku one,” Powell added.

“I’ve never seen anybody look at an incident so much in my life and it was obvious from the second [angle].

“You’ve got fans slow handclapping now. That is not what we want.

“The beauty of this game is the flow and the energy and the intensity of it. Hull KR went for a captain’s challenge on an obvious high tackle at the end to give themselves a breather to defend that final four minutes. Well, it’s an obvious high tackle.

“If you add up the time taken from captain’s challenges today what would it be? Maybe 15 minutes?

“It’s not good for the sport, everybody is saying it. Get rid of it. If it doesn’t happen now it has to happen for next season.”