Warriors CEO Cameron George has urged fans to support the side at this Friday's home game. Photo / Getty
Warriors CEO Cameron George has urged fans to support the side at this Friday's home game. Photo / Getty
The controversial one-sided refereeing performance in the Warriors 24-22 loss to the Eels on Saturday night left fans fuming.
The Eels weren't penalised once between the 10th minute and the 80th minute with several calls clearly favouring the home side in the crucial final moments of the game.
But with a home game against the Canberra Raiders set for Friday night, Warriors CEO Cameron George has urged fans to show their support for the Warriors by dressing as referees and bringing whistles to the Mt Smart Stadium clash.
"Let's give Canberra a bit of their own back in terms of what New Zealand's all about," George told Radio Sport's Jim Kayes. "Everyone can bring a whistle if they want and have a bit of fun with it."
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors runs the ball. Photo / Getty
"All I want our fans to know is our boys are ready to move on ... we just want a full crowd this week, the boys deserve it."
Agreeing with Warriors coach Stephen Kearney's frustration following last night's game, George believed several calls cost the Kiwi side a victory.
And although making clear the players had already accepted and moved on from the controversy, George confirmed the club would be taking up the issue with the NRL.
"We know we could've done better but it was a tough night at the office and it's pretty tough to take," George said. "Some major calls have left us baffled as to how they achieved them and the outcome to those calls were significant in terms of the result of the game.
"I'll take it up in a detailed manner with the NRL tomorrow about the performance of the officials and some of their referring.
"I think it's fair to say in the last month or so there have been a lot of questionable decisions so we'll take that up through the proper process and it'll be interesting to hear their response."
Coach Stephen Kearney of the Warriors looks on. Photo / Getty
Earlier, Kearney made his opinion on the refereeing clear, saying the NRL's new rule around stripping the ball should "piss off" if it can't be interpreted properly.
"If they can't adjudicate on it properly, go back to normal," said Kearney. "Leave it alone. If they can't get right, which today it was pretty comprehensive that they couldn't, just leave it as it was. If you can't rule on it or make a decision, piss it off. Fair dinkum.
"Obviously you can tell I am pretty frustrated with it all. You saw it all yourselves.
"We had enough opportunities to get a result. [But] it was made hard, there was no doubt about it."
