Warriors captain Ryan Hoffman appeals to referee Gavin Reynolds during Saturday's home defeat to Manly. Photo/Getty.
Warriors captain Ryan Hoffman appeals to referee Gavin Reynolds during Saturday's home defeat to Manly. Photo/Getty.
Warriors captain Ryan Hoffman admits he let his emotions get the better of him in last Saturday's defeat to Manly and says he is still finding his way in the new leadership role.
Hoffman's frustrations were evident throughout the side's 34-18 defeat to the Sea Eagles with his side's high error count and poor discipline further compounded by some questionable refereeing decisions that went against the home side.
The 32-year-old 269 game veteran back-rower let his feelings be known to referees Gavin Reynolds and Chris Sutton on several occasions and was fortunate to escape sanction after involving himself in an ingoal melee following Manly wing Tom Trobjevic's try just before fulltime.
Watch: Andrew McFadden speaks to media ahead of Saturday's clash against Canterbury
Hoffman admits the nature of the defeat was hard to stomach but ahead of Saturday's clash against Canterbury in Wellington, accepts he needs to learn from the experience and improve the way he deals with match officials.
"I probably didn't handle the whole situation as well as I should have," Hoffman said.
"Every result matters to me, especially when you're playing at home.
"I've only a captain for six weeks so it was a learning curve for me. I probably need to handle my emotions a bit better with the referee and when I come back to the players to make sure I'm being constructive.
"I'll learn from that and that's rugby league, things like that are going to happen and you just need to handle them in a professional manner."
Hoffman has had a tough introduction since taking over the captaincy role from former skipper Simon Mannering prior to round one, with the Warriors losing their first three matches before posting wins over Newcastle and the Sydney Roosters.
Having come from the ultra-consistent and highly successful Melbourne Storm to join the Warriors last season, he now finds himself in charge of directing a supremely talented roster struggling to realise their immense potential.
Listen: Herald league journalists Michael Burgess and David Skipwith join Dale Budge to chat about the Warriors moving Tui Lolohea into the halves, Ryan Hoffman's captaincy and what is wrong with the side's performances.
If there was one widespread criticism of Mannering's style of captaincy during his six seasons in the job, it was that he was not robust or assertive enough in his dealings with referees.
In contrast, Hoffman has shown a willingness to challenge decisions but although some of the calls from the on-field officials and the referee's bunker have been difficult to interpret, the Warriors have lacked the focus, composure and resilience to work through those setbacks.
"We've talked about that," said coach Andrew McFadden. "We certainly got frustrated and let that get the better of us and we can't allow that to happen.
"The referees have a certain amount of influence on the game but we have the main influence, what we can control through our performance and we didn't perform so we had no right to be that frustrated.
"We still gave up 34 points and that's got nothing to do with the referees."
Hoffman engages with referee Henry Perenara in the round three clash against Melbourne. Photo/Getty.
Referee Henry Perenara will control the Westpac Stadium clash with the Bulldogs, after coming under fire for his performances in the Warriors' round three loss to Melbourne and the Storm's round five win over the Knights.
Hoffman insists Perenara's appointment holds no concerns for his side and reiterated his support and respect for all whistle blowers.
"No, it doesn't (concern him). Referees are there to do a job. Every now and then you're going to have disagreements but it's up to me as a professional athlete and as a captain to treat them with respect.
"The rugby league gods work in funny ways, things always seem to work out."
