McNamara says his team have not had much luck all year

Bradford coach Steve McNamara blasted video referee Richard Silverwood's decision to disallow his side an early try in the play-off defeat by Wigan.

Bulls winger Semi Tadulala palmed the ball back following Paul Deacon's kick for Chris Nero to score on 13 minutes, but Silverwood ruled a knock-on.

"It was a disgraceful call, as bad as it gets," fumed McNamara.

"I thought we had the worst decision of the season last week at Castleford but that was even worse."

He added: "It was clear the ball went back before it bounced forward. How can you get the decision so wrong?

"We're really disappointed not to progress further in the competition. I'm really proud of my team. They've had a bit of rough justice.

"We've not had much luck all year. The only luck we've had has been bad luck."

The Bulls trailed 12-8 at half-time but suffered a body blow with the loss of captain and scrum-half Deacon with a knee injury.

Wigan edged ahead thanks to first-half tries from Thomas Leuluai and Harrison Hansen, and ran away with the tie in the second half with the aid of touchdowns from Mark Calderwood, Joel Tomkins and Gareth Hock.

We just knew Bradford were hanging everything on a huge start and they were very vigorous Wigan coach Brian Noble

"We just knew Bradford were hanging everything on a huge start and they were very vigorous," said Warriors coach Brian Noble following his side's 30-14 win.

"It was down to a little bit of patience on our part. We knew we would trouble them if we got some ruck speed."

Both coaches paid tribute to Bradford's veteran prop forward Joe Vagana, who hung up his boots at the end of the game.

Former Bradford boss Noble said: "He's been a sensational athlete and a terrific ambassador for the game of rugby league."

McNamara said: "Joe is a super bloke and it's disappointing for him to finish tonight."