Cronulla Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has questioned the match-winning penalty for the New Zealand Warriors during a tight loss on Sunday afternoon.
After leading 20 points to nothing during the first half, the Sharks found themselves unable to stop the resilient Warriors from getting back into the game before the rain set in during the back end of the second half.
With scores locked up at 30 points apiece, Dale Finucane was first sent to the sin bin for a hip drop tackle in the 75th minute, then the Warriors would receive a penalty in an attacking penalty for a push on a chase for a loose ball during the final minute of the game.
Fitzgibbon said during the post-game press conference that he didn't really know what happened, but suggested that he was preparing for either call from the commentary box.
"I don't know what happened at the end there. I'm interested in watching that again," Fitzgibbon said.
"I was looking at it. I'm not sure if it's Moyza (Matt Moylan) or Royce [Hunt] there. We were trying to get the vision. What? Did he push him?
"When I was watching it, obviously you have to be ready for what happened there, either call. It was trying to talk about what we might or might not do depending on the call going either way, but when I looked at it, I'm not sure which part of the push."
The Cronulla coach also said Finucan's hip drop, for which he is set to face a three-week suspension after being slapped with a Grade 2 dangerous contact charge, was an accident without malice or intent.
"No. Most of those are accidents where you get swung around the back of someone and get it wrong. No one wants to see them but they are hard to get right some times," Fitzgibbon said.
Marata Niukore also found himself in the sin bin for a hip drop during the first half, but Fitzgibbon couldn't be drawn for comment on whether things had gone too far in the NRL's crackdown on the tackle.
"That's not up to me to decide. It's unfortunate when it happens, but sometimes they are accidental," Fitzgibbon added.
Finucane said the tackle was an accident, and explained that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad's superior footwork got the better of him.
"I didn't really get an explanation from Ben. From my point of view, there is no intention whatsoever. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad beat with his footwork and with that and the rain, I swung to the back of the tackle. No malice or intent," Finucane said on the tackle.
Like Finucane, Niukore will be facing a suspension for his hip drop tackle on Siosifa Talakai during the first half, however, a cleaner record means he will only spend two weeks out.
The Warriors sit in second place on the ladder after the win over the Sharks with four wins from five games, while the Sharks sit in 12th place with two wins from their five games.
