Sydney coach Trent Robinson has directed a scathing appraisal at the bunker following their delayed decision to halt play in the wake of Latrell Mitchell's malicious hit on Joey Manu.
The head-high shot that saw the Kiwi international depart the field with conspicuous facial injuries was enough to have Robinson hot under the collar, yet his rage was almost certain to have been compounded by the light punishment his former pupil Mitchell received and the 54-12 deficit his side faced by the final whistle.
RELATED: Latrell set for lengthy ban after malicious Manu shot
Speaking after the heavy loss, the 44-year-old directed his ire at both the on-field official, Ashley Klein, and the bunker adjudicator, Henry Perenara, for shuffling their feet before stopping the game.
“I’m just baffled... [Manu] was down for how long?” Robinson seethed on Fox League post-game.
“And then it took Joey to stand up and go and stick up for himself with a depressed fracture of the cheekbone. And then they still didn’t want to do anything about it.
“Henry Perenara is sitting in the bunker, didn’t stop play, didn’t do anything about it, then Ashley [Klein] asked them to play on and the players went at it again.
“And then he just missed it completely... Perenara who’s supposed to know some footy, sitting up in the box, and then doesn't’ do anything about if for 30 or 40 or 50 seconds, doesn’t do a thing about it.
“Joey Manu does something about it. It’s a common rule of this year about the NRL and the bunker not looking after our players, it’s been clear."
Robinson continued in his untethered tirade by claiming that his side was more often than not receiving the raw end of the deal when it came to recent rulings.
“They’ve changed two of the major rules this year based on the referees and the bunker doing nothing about it on Roosters players," he recommenced.
“And then we’ve got [Sio] Siua Taukaeiho... everybody knows that’s a hip drop... and now he’s got a knee injury over it. And a guy sitting in the bunker says that’s just on report.
“It’s really common, it’s been really frustrating this year. We had the head highs on Teddy in the Anzac Day game, then we had the knees and the bunker farce in the Parramatta game, and then the game changed. The game changed overnight.
“All of a sudden head high... we were going to protect our players. Then we get a high shot on Sam Walker against Melbourne, no one does anything about it. Bunker doesn’t do anything, on-field referees don’t do anything about it.
“And then they say actually we’ll change the rules, it’s like a late hit on a halfback... so a rule gets changed again.
“We’re the most penalised team in the comp and we’re the most targeted.”
Like many that either viewed the incident live or on replay, the triple premiership coach believed that the sanction handed to Mitchell was insufficient and that the whistleblowers had lost control of the game.
“The guy is off at hospital... they get forced into finally making a call on it and then they send (Mitchell) for 10 in the bin. Ten in the bin? It was laughable, it was that bad it was almost laughable," Robinson bemoaned.
“They didn’t know what they were doing. How do you send that for 10 in the bin? A guy will finish his year based on a late shot to the head, and it’s 10 in the bin? In which game?
“You cannot make decisions if that’s your decision."
Robinson then ramped up his assessment of Perenara by stating that he had no business remaining in his current post if last night was any indication of his future abilities.
“Get out of there [the bunker],” he said.
“If you can’t do it get out of there, or just get rid of it all completely. If you cannot do the job, get out of there.
“It’s shown that the NRL bunker cannot do their job this year. It’s been a farce, it’s been an absolute farce.
“To see Joey Manu get up and have to stick up for himself... that should have been stopped 10 seconds after the incident. It’s that bad it’s actually funny.
“What are they doing up there? I don’t know what they’re doing up there."
The former forward then went into conspiracy theory overdrive as he ended his rant.
“I’ve got this thing, like that circus music going on in the background, and streamers and stuff, there must be something going on (in the bunker) when a Roosters player gets hit high in 2021," he said in finality.
"There must be something that distracts them.
“It’s like the Twilight Zone up there when a Roosters player gets hit high.”
Robinson is likely to face sanctions for his tongue lashing, but at the time of writing, no formal charges have been handed down.