Todd Payten, head coach of the North Queensland Cowboys, expressed his frustration over a controversial decision that led to Reuben Cotter's sin binning during the team's surprising victory against the Sydney Roosters at Magic Round on Saturday night in Brisbane.
Earlier in the match, the Cowboys had already played with 12 men for ten minutes when Matt Lodge was sent to the sin bin. In the second half, Cotter faced a similar fate after being deemed to have made contact with Sam Walker before he could play the ball in a critical try-scoring moment.
Although a penalty try was not awarded, the officials opted to send Cotter to the sin bin.
Payten commented, "I think if you slow it down like they do it is very hard to come up with the right call."
He added, "At normal speed I just asked them to watch that at normal speed because if you slow it down like they did you are going to find something wrong with it."
Despite his frustrations, Payten noted, "I'll ask some questions, but I don't want to take away from how tough and gritty we were by making too harsh a comment."
This victory marks the Cowboys' third win in their last four matches, exceeding pre-season expectations. They now sit firmly in the top eight, boasting seven wins from eleven games and with three byes still ahead.
The first bye is not until Round 15, as North Queensland prepares to face off against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canberra Raiders, and Dolphins, all without the injured Tom Dearden. Dearden may return shortly after the bye when the Cowboys are set to clash with the Warriors in Christchurch.