Video: Unlucky Joe Westerman forced to suffer another body blow as Warrington lose Grand Final
The former Castleford Tigers and Hull FC loose-forward was helpless yet again as Warrington Wolves lost the Grand Final 12-6 against Wigan Warriors.
The agonising defeat – Wire led 6-2 at half-time – came just six weeks after the League Leaders’ Shield winners squandered a 10-0 lead to fall against Hull in the Challenge Cup final.
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Hide Ad“I said to you guys at the start of the week Wembley was probably the worst I’ve ever felt after a game but this has just topped it, I think,” conceded Westerman.
“Once again to be in control of a game and let it slip like that is heartbreaking.
“Wigan played well. As a supporter it must have been pretty good to watch.
“It was end-to-end, we were down there, they were in our end.
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Hide Ad“If you look at attitude, we have that – everyone put their full body on the line – but just once again it’s one of those ... not good enough.”
If Ryan Atkins had managed to touch down in the 54th minute rather than spill in a desperate five-man tackle from Wigan, Warrington could have been 12-2 up.
Instead, their opponents scored seconds later to level at 6-6 and, ultimately, ground Westerman’s side out of the game.
“You can’t look at that,” insisted the Castleford-born England international. “They just rolled us a bit too quick through the middle.
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Hide Ad“They had a game plan to roll us, quick play-the-balls, get in our half, kick it and keep us at our end and they did it well.
“I thought we did our game-plan pretty well, too, and Dec Patton once again was outstanding for us.
“But we just didn’t finish a few tries, a few chances … Yeah … another loss. We have to look at it now and get it right for next year.”