Boss Brad Arthur insisted James McDonnell “did nothing wrong” after a controversial penalty against him cost Leeds Rhinos a place at Old Trafford.

Rhinos’ season ended in cruel fashion when they suffered a 14-12 defeat to Warrington Wolves in Friday’s Betfred Super League semi-final at AMT Headingley. The four tries, all scored in the first half, were shared, but Warrington won the game through a kick by Ewan Irwin 15 minutes from time.

Leeds’ second-rower, playing his final game for the club, was ruled to have obstructed George Williams under a kick. Rhinos’ captain’s challenge was unsuccessful, but in his post-match press conference, Arthur insisted the incident wasn’t worth a penalty.

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A dejected James McDonnell after his Leeds Rhinos career ended in a 14-12 semi-final defeat by Warrigbton Wolves. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

placeholder image — A dejected James McDonnell after his Leeds Rhinos career ended in a 14-12 semi-final defeat by Warrigbton Wolves. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

There was nothing between the sides despite Leeds missing a host of key players from their backline - including Maika Sivo who dislocated a shoulder in the final training session - and losing Chris Hankinson to a foot injury during the warm-up. “I haven’t whinged or complained the whole time I’ve been here,” Arthur - a Super League coach of the year nominee - said.

“I’m extremely proud of our team, our club and the players. The last two weeks have been really disjointed. You could see that before kick-off when Chank [Hankinson] went down. I was extremely proud of our effort, I don’t know what more we could have done.

“We got a couple of bits and pieces wrong here and there, but so did they. It would have been really nice if the game was decided by an individual or the teams with a piece of skill - someone nailing a field goal or something like that - instead of a soft penalty deciding such a big game.

“It is a soft penalty. Ned [McCormack] got escorted four or five times under kicks and I wasn’t expecting penalties. That is a soft penalty to decide such a big game.”

Jake Connor touches down for Leeds Rhinos in their semi-final defeat by Warrington Wolves. Picture by Steve Riding.

With a couple of minutes left Jake Connor landed a 40-20 to apparently give Leeds a last attacking chance, but Warrington challenged and the video official awarded them a penalty for Keenan Palasia passing off the floor. Of that, Arthur said: “I think his arm touches the ground.

“I am happy to wear that one. It would have been nice to see what happens in that last set. I thought here’s our chance, we’ve been so tough and so brave against all the odds, can we come up with something to win the game?

“That would have been really nice and a fairy tale, but it’s not to be. Sport is tough and character building and we have got to move on from it. But it is disappointing we’re not sitting here talking about an individual winning the game.

“Instead we’re talking about a poor decision, a soft penalty. It was a fantastic game to watch. It would have been great if a team decided it.”

Friday's Super League semi-final defeat by Warrington Wolves brought the curtain down on Cameron Smith's Leeds Rhinos career. Picture by Steve Riding.

Arthur added: “I don’t want James McDonnell wearing the brunt of this, because he did nothing wrong. If you watch the end-on camera, his eyes are on the ball the whole way. He is running back, he doesn’t initiate contact.

“Look at four on Ned McCormack; I don’t want a penalty from those because they are just jostling to get back, doing their job. The fact the ref took so long to decide whether it was a penalty or not showed you he wasn’t sure.”