Cronulla captain Paul Gallen says referee Robert Hicks had nothing to do with the result of the World Club Challenge.

The Sharks were defeated by Wigan yesterday.

“It was a tough game,” Gallen said.

“It was intense from the start. It came down to the first half, when they took their opportunities and we didn’t.

“There were three or four calls that could have gone our way but the referee had nothing to do with the result.

“I love it over here. I’m really upset about the result, it’s probably the last chance I’ll get to play in this game so it’s disappointing.”

Gallen said Cronulla did not come into the game with a perfect preparation.

“This was our first game, Wigan have played two trial games and a competition game.

“To be honest, we had three sessions as a team,” he said.

“We had a really good pre-season up to a month ago, then we hit some hurdles.

“We lost three of our outside backs to injury. We had the Nines, the All Stars where we had the biggest representation, then we had a trial.

“They are well and truly into their season we’re not. But that has got nothing to do with the result today. We play them again in two or three weeks time, who knows?”