Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the Warriors didn't win a penalty against the Titans. Photo / Photosport
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the Warriors didn't win a penalty against the Titans. Photo / Photosport
NRL referees' boss Bernard Sutton could soon find himself as a means of catharsis for the Warriors coaching staff, who were left with a lot of questions following their side's loss to the Gold Coast Titans on Friday night.
The Warriors were on the wrong side of a 5-0 penaltycount and had what appeared to be a clear try disallowed after being referred to the bunker in the 16-12 defeat. Speaking after the match, assistant coach Justin Morgan said the coaching staff had a "long list of questions" to put to the referees following the game.
"That's more therapeutic for us than anything else," Morgan said. "They're not going to turn around and change their decisions. We'll ask some questions; we need to keep people honest and accountable for what's going on.
"To be fair, the new six-again rule and so forth, clubs are getting used to it, coaches are getting used to it and no doubt referees are getting used to it. There are some inconsistencies in that at the moment and that makes it a little bit harder to swallow, but we just have to wait it out.
"We have a long list of questions for the referees' boss. He might turn around and say 'we got that one wrong and we got that one wrong' but it doesn't change anything."
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the Warriors didn't win a penalty against the Titans. Photo / Photosport
After a flying start saw the Warriors run out to a 12-0 lead in the opening nine minutes, they struggled to back up their attack and failed to put any more points on the board despite spending plenty of time in Titans territory. The Titans hung around and were able to fight back, ultimately stealing the win with a 74th minute try through rookie Beau Fermor.
When asked about the lopsided penalty count after the match, Warriors interim head coach Todd Payten questioned the officiating around the ruck.
"I thought there was a difference in the ruck from them to us in terms of second effort and the tempo of the ruck," Payten said. "We got a couple of ruck infringements but we didn't get any penalties so it's frustrating, but I'm a coach on the losing end of a game so of course I'm going to say that."
Warriors coach Todd Payten after the loss to the Titans. Photo / Photosport
It's rare that an NRL side can go a full match without being awarded a penalty, however Payten wasn't using that as an excuse for his team's demise.
After the way they started, the Warriors should have been able to go on with the job. Instead, in Payten's summation, they "softened a bit" instead.
"Some guys were missing their assignments defensively and that's something we need to improve no doubt.
"I thought for large parts of it we did show some defensive resolve, where a month ago we would've leaked plenty of points. So, I'm pleased with the improvements we've made there particularly in our defensive structures, but at the end of the day we lost the game on some big plays we should have made.
"When we are where we are and fighting like we're fighting, we just have to keep fighting until it turns."
