Gold Coast Titans' coach Des Hasler has been left frustrated by a controversial call which could have robbed his side of a win over the Newcastle Knights on Saturday afternoon during Magic Round.
With the Titans behind by four points during the closing stages of the game, a miraculous play on the right-hand side saw a ball flipped back into the path of Brian Kelly, who then fought his way through the defence to the tryline.
Referee Gerard Sutton would award the try on field, however, after a review, bunker official Wyatt Raymond overruled the try, ruling that Kelly had lost the ball in the act of scoring.
Hasler, speaking after the game, said it was a try.
"Try. Yeah. Every day of the week," Hasler said during a short post-game press conference focused entirely on the decision.
"It's crazy. Hand never came away from the ball and if it did then it's a penalty for a one-on-one strip isn't it?
"They [the bunker] don't know. They don't know."
Maybe unsurprisingly, Newcastle head coach Adam O'Brien, when asked, said he agreed with the decision to overrule the try, but admitted his defenders needed to do a better job.
"I wasn't happy with it. If I'm honest, Greg [Marzhew] and Davey [David Armstrong] needed to do a better job there, but the technology is there, we used it and it was the right call," O'Brien said.
"The technology showed. At the time I thought it was [a try], but watching and hearing the explanation, I agree [with the bunker]."
Hasler added that the game had been refereed poorly for the most part, with the Knights getting away with offsides for the majority of the second half. He also added he was proud of his side who fought their way back into the contest after going behind by two tries early on.
"What can you say? It was pretty clear to see, it was pretty obvious. Even the second half. The off-side, clearly. They were just jumping the line the whole time. It makes it pretty difficult to get out," Hasler said.
"I'm very proud of the way they fought back in. You know, it was very difficult. We had injuries. It's very frustrating for the players with the competition being so close and to go through what they went through in that half, get into a position to win a game and then just... Yeah."
Asked if he would seek clarity from the NRL's head of football Graham Annesley, Hasler said he already had and that the only clarity he would get through the week would be the same he gets every week.
"It'll be the same clarity. Yeah, we got it wrong. We are sorry. Let's move on. They are only human, which they are, we all make mistakes," Hasler said.
Hasler said he felt sorry for the fans.
"I feel really sorry for the fans and the players. The fans are just getting the rough end. Maybe Graham [Annesley] needs to consider that," Hasler added.
