New Zealand Warriors forward Jazz Tevaga copped a ridiculous sin bin during Sunday's NRL match against the Parramatta Eels on the Central Coast. Video / NRL
Warriors coach Todd Payten says he gave up his public efforts to get a fair deal from the referees because the Auckland NRL club gets ignored.
And his belief that the referee in Sunday's loss to the Eels should be dropped has found no official favour, with Grant Atkins appointed to a match in the next round.
Payten said he decided to leave concerns about the overall refereeing standards and consistency to coaches from Sydney clubs because they would make more headway.
But the interim Warriors boss, an Australian who has just been appointed head coach of the Cowboys from next year, has renewed his complaints and concerns after a controversial loss to the Eels.
The Warriors were hurt by the contentious sin binning of Jazz Tevaga in the last round, with the Eels scoring two critical first-half tries while the Warriors' lock was on the sideline.
It has left the Warriors facing a must-win game against the Sharks on Sunday, and their top eight hopes in serious trouble.
Payten said he sent referees boss Bernie Sutton about 30 video clips looking for clarification around each incident after a narrow loss to the Titans this year.
"I was on the phone to Bernie on a couple of occasions…I spent a good extra three hours cutting up the game," he told Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave.
"While I was being heard nothing changed over the coming weeks. I made the decision I was wasting too much energy on it.
"There have been some coaches who have commented publicly in the post-match conference and given that they are in Sydney and probably at more popular clubs, it gets far more attention in the press than if it was coming from the Warriors."
Jazz Tevaga's battle with Nathan Brown cost the Warriors dearly. Photo / Photosport
Payten said the club's early season performances had left them under pressure. But he was still clearly frustrated about a no-try ruling in the Titans game and the sin binning of Tevaga for a mild push to Eels lock Nathan Brown's head.
He said the sin binning "severely impacted" the outcome and those sorts of calls "affect livelihoods". He wished the bunker had wound the video back a further 10 seconds, to see a "knee on Jazz Tevaga's head".
"I'd be very disappointed if Atkins is refereeing again this weekend," he said.
Atkins will control the Storm-Cowboys game on the Sunshine Coast.
The NRL's head of football Graham Annesley says Atkins - who got help from the bunker - probably got the sin bin call wrong, but says there is also an onus on players to avoid potential problems.
"(Don't) place the officials in a position where they force them to make decisions that might negatively affect them," Annesley said.
"The best way we could have avoided this is that Jazz doesn't do what he did. Then no one's talking about it."
Meanwhile, Payten clarified the forward selections for the match against Cronulla.
Tohu Harris, listed in the No 12 jersey, will start as a prop with Isaiah Papali'i playing on an edge. The Warriors have their Eels loan players George Jennings and Daniel Alvaro back after Parramatta withdrew them last week.
Former Warriors golden boy Shaun Johnson returns for the Sharks from a groin problem, but they have lost Chad Townsend and Wade Graham to suspension.
