Ivan Cleary has remarked that the effectiveness of the bunker in preventing or causing poor refereeing decisions remains uncertain following a "ridiculous" call during Penrith's match against Canterbury.
The coach, who boasts four premierships, criticized AJ Jones for what he labeled a "dumb play," but he was particularly upset by a decision that ruled out a first-half try for Tom Jenkins.
In the 24th minute of Friday's 24-10 victory, Jenkins appeared to successfully snatch the ball from Jacob Kiraz's grasp while airborne, seemingly scoring his 29th try of the season.
However, the bunker upheld referee Gerard Sutton's ruling of no try because Kiraz had been deemed to have caught Nathan Cleary's kick in the in-goal area. This decision raised Cleary's concerns about whether Kiraz truly maintained possession long enough for a valid catch.
"Do you reckon it passed the pub test, that one? Nah, it's ridiculous," Cleary commented.
"If he caught the ball, with no-one around him in the air, then landed and dropped it, what would happen?"
The decision shifted momentum to the Bulldogs, who would have been behind by at least 10-0 had Jenkins's try been validated. Instead, Canterbury moved downfield, with Matt Burton scoring to narrow the gap to two points.
"It was just ridiculous, honestly. That was a huge call because they get a penalty and then they score. Frustrating," Cleary added.
Having previously worked as a referees' consultant, Cleary expressed doubt about the bunker's current efficacy.
"I guess it's everyone's own opinion on whether the bunker is getting things enough right," he said.
"If we just go back to the original reason why we got it in the first place was to stop the howlers.
"The jury's out whether that's happening or creating more. I don't know."
Cleary also suggested that Jones should "potentially" face a sin-bin for pushing Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards off the ball late in the first half.
Sutton had warned the captains about escalating tensions prior to Jones's altercation with Edwards, stemming from a head clash with Burton.
"It was a pretty dumb play," Cleary stated.
"Dyl didn't do anything wrong. There was a melee that they don't want."
At that moment, the Bulldogs were set to receive the ball from a line dropout, but Sutton penalized Jones, allowing the Panthers to escape.
"It's probably a good learning for Jones," Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said.
"But what this group has really prided themselves on is sticking up for each other.
"That's why AJ is going to be a really good Bulldog for a long time because he cares about his mates and he sticks up for his mates."