Western Force captain Matt Hodgson almost broke down following victory over the Kings as he was questioned about his team's future.
The Force are the leading Australian candidates to be cut from Super Rugby under the re-vamped competition announced by SANZAAR, and Hodgson hit out at the way the changes had been handled.
The Sydney-born Hodgson, the Wallaby forward who has played 130-plus games for the Force, was close to tears at the press conference in Perth.
Hodgson said he may not have had a professional rugby career but for the opportunity the Force gave him, and Perth was now his home.
"Being a parent myself, you don't know where to put your kid now," he said, fighting back tears.
"Do I put him in rugby...stay in Western Australia and play AFL.
"The way it has been done is the most annoying thing. It has dragged on.
"I've done four press conferences this week and I've had one rugby question. We call rugby the global game but we can't even get it throughout all of Australia. It's frustrating."
Coach David Wessels said it was a sad day for Australian rugby, whichever team was cut. Wessels said he would concentrate on finding new rugby homes for his players if necessary.