Gidley ditches playercam in Super League

Warrington halfback Kurt Gidley took the decision to abandon his playercam after becoming the first rugby league player to wear one in a match.

The Australian made history on Thursday night in the English Super League as he gave television viewers a close-up of the big hits.

The camera was fitted in a vest behind a small hole in the player's jersey during the first half of the Wolves'clash with Leigh at the Sports Village.

Sky Sports viewers were told the experiment was being abandoned at halftime due to technical issues but Warrington coach Tony Smith says the decision was taken by the player himself.

"Kurt wanted to get on with playing footy," Smith told Press Association Sport. "I don't think things were going great for Kurt at that stage. He needed to get it off and just get on with playing.

"I don't know if it had any effect on what he did or not but the camera went at halftime.

"I hope they got some good footage of it. I think it was done for all the right reasons to try and give people a perspective of rugby league from a different angle."

Gidley admitted in an interview before kick-off that the playercam "paints a target" on his head and he was on the receiving end of a huge tackle from Leigh forward Harrison Hansen that forced the ball from his grasp which led directly to a Leigh try from the free-play.

Smith conceded his playmaker did not have the best of games but added: "I don't think he'd use that as an excuse."