North Queensland Cowboys head coach Todd Payten is the latest NRL coach to express frustration regarding the bunker's oversight, questioning how a dropped ball went unnoticed during the game in Christchurch on Sunday.
The Cowboys ultimately fell to an 18-point defeat, with a final score of 38-20 in the new city stadium. The match had been much closer, with only a ten-point gap as the second half unfolded.
With just over ten minutes remaining, Adam Pompey seemed to have scored a critical try, only for replays to indicate that Taine Tuaupiki had knocked the ball on earlier in the play.
However, Wyatt Raymond in the bunker did not call it, allowing the try to count, which pushed the score to 30-16 and placed the Cowboys at a significant disadvantage.
Moments later, Tuaupiki further sealed the game with another try. In his post-match comments, Payten expressed disbelief at the missed call concerning the knock-on.
"Those moments, that's the difference," he remarked during his press conference.
"I'm pretty certain Tuaupiki touched that ball. I don't know if it was checked, but … I was pretty certain it was touched. The margin was 10 points there at the time.
"I'll tell you what will really be frustrating, if we get an apology email through the week or a phone call. When the Bunker has so many angles, I understand there's going to be human error but they're big moments.