Mason Lino of the Newcastle Knights during the game against the Warriors. Photo / Getty
Mason Lino of the Newcastle Knights during the game against the Warriors. Photo / Getty
The Warriors accept that questionable refereeing decisions are part of the sport, and are focussed on reacting better to adverse situations.
During a season where they have been on the receiving end of several debatable judgements, the Auckland team copped three rough calls during Saturday night's 24-20 winover Newcastle, at least two of which could have turned the game.
The officials overlooked a clear Mason Lino knock on in the play before the Knights' first try, then the bunker chalked off a Ken Maumalo try in the 65th minute, despite clear evidence, which would have given the Warriors an eight point buffer.
Perhaps the worst was during the lead up to Newcastle's final try, when play was allowed to continue despite centre Peta Hiku suffering a head knock and staggering on his feet.
On Monday NRL Head of Football Graeme Annesley admitted all three decisions were wrong, and was particularly concerned about the Hiku incident.
"They were aware that he had suffered a head knock, they were aware that he was on the ground and they should have stopped play at that tackle before the play-the-ball. They had time to do that," said Annesley.
Warriors forward Adam Blair, who was standing next to Hiku when it happened, admitted they were concerned for their teammate.
"We were all quite surprised but then — and that is probably the work on for us — it's about being in the moment and not really leaving it up to the refs to make those calls.
"He goes down, they get a tackle or a two pass and go down and score a try. [It's about] staying in the moment, until the referee actually stops the game.
"There were a couple of moments where most probably clocked off because we thought the refs were going to stop it but it is about learning those lessons."
Adam Blair. Photo / Photosport
Blair, who had one of his better games on Saturday, admits such situations can be hard to deal with.
"I was involved in that [Lino] tackle and he told me I stripped the ball and clearly I didn't," said Blair. "[It's frustrating] but we spoke about it behind the line after they scored the try, we let out our frustration and got on with it. Talk about it, flush it out and then move on to the next job.
"[And] if we are playing well enough to win games then we won't rely on those refs calls. If they make a wrong call then we are in a good enough position to still win the game."
Gerard Beale, who made just his sixth NRL appearance of the season in Newcastle, said maintaining composure was the crucial for the Warriors.
"In the past, in teams I've been in, you get caught up in the moment and want to prove your point," said Beale. "What was good was that we didn't blow up and run over to the ref, but the work on is responding as a team, scrambling as a team, it's important that we connect together. If we did that better we could have stopped a couple of tries."
Patrick Herbert (hamstring) and Jazz Tevaga (ankle) sat out training on Tuesday, while Peta Hiku didnt take part in any contact work.
The team will have another training session on Wednesday, before flying to Brisbane the following day ahead of Saturday's clash with the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium (7:30pm NZT).
