Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart hasn't left the public wondering over his thoughts on Sunday's frantic and controversial end to a two-point loss to the St George Illawarra Dragons.
First taking his press conference on Sunday directly after the game to suggest that he was "expecting an apology" on Monday, he has now gone on another tirade, suggesting that the "system is broken."
It follows the NRL's head of football admitting on Monday that the Raiders should have been awarded a penalty in the dying stages of the game for multiple infractions from Ben Hunt.
Annesley found that Hunt was offside, then flopped on the tackle of Joseph Tapine, before being not square at marker to make the ultimately game-ending tackle on Tom Starling, who was unable to get the ball out of dummy half.
Referee Peter Gough - who has been left off the list for this weekend's shortened Round 17 - refused to blow his whistle however, instead issuing a six-again for the flop, and not making any call for Hunt not being square.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, Stuart said the system is broken.
โThe system is broken,โ Stuart told the publication.
โAll the teams are fighting for survival.
โAnd here I have a referee that wonโt blow his whistle on not one but two indiscretions in the one tackle.
โRight under the posts with the game on the line, and us fighting for semi-final survival.โ
Stuart, who has been critical of NRL referees previously, particularly after a loss to the New Zealand Warriors when Matt Lodge took a dive to win a penalty, also said he has fielded calls from other coaches since Sunday expressing their own frustrations over the officiating, which has constantly been in the news this season.
โThis is not the first time this year it has happened to this team,โ Stuart said.
โIt just blows me away. I am not the only frustrated coach.
โIโve had other coaches today ringing me up and sharing the same frustrations."
In what was a difficult weekend for the NRL and their refereeing group, criticism also flowed out of the contest between the Sydney Roosters and Penrith Panthers earlier in the weekend, and has followed the competition for much of the season, with refereeing being a constant talking point.
Despite the blow up from Stuart, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys has already confirmed the game is not looking to move back to one referee, or to remove the six-again rule, which copped a lot of the blame for the messy ending to the Dragons-Raiders clash on Sunday afternoon in Wollongong.
