NRL: Warriors coach Stephen Kearney takes aim at referees

Although Warriors coach Stephen Kearney admits his side's loss to Melbourne was a "missed opportunity", he believes there is a serious issue with officiating in the NRL.

Not usually one to point the finger at those with the whistle, Kearney didn't hold back following his team's 12-6 loss to the Storm in Auckland.   

The Warriors had plenty of chances on attack to beat the Storm, but their execution in the red zone was poor.

Several calls went against the home side, which baffled Kearney, but he didn't want to blame referees Ben Cummins and Jon Stone.

The one call that ruffled Kearney's feathers the most was in the second half, when Ken Maumalo was tackled high by Storm skipper Cameron Smith, who then interrupted the ensuing play-the-ball, only for the Cummins to rule a knock-on.

Speaking to media after the match, the Warriors boss said the men with the whistle are not up to standard.

"It's important we don't sit here and gloss over the fact we weren't good enough, but I think there is a problem [with the refereeing]," said Kearney.

"Unfortunately, they have been poorly led. They get a directive [from the NRL] at the start of the year to blow the pea out of the whistle and 13 rounds in, that changes again.

"It's just about that consistency and I feel for them at the moment. There are enough smart people in our game to get it sorted and we need to make sure we do something about it.

"It's a bit of a blight on our game at the minute. Ken's one was a pretty obvious one.

"They are moments for them and as Ricky alluded to the other day, they are game-changers. They turn the momentum of the game."

Kearney was referring to Raiders coach Ricky Stuart's outburst on Friday night after his side's controversial loss to the Sharks.

The Warriors coach believes there is a serious issue with officiating.
The Warriors coach believes there is a serious issue with officiating. Photo credit: AAP

Stuart slammed the standard of refereeing, after two costly calls when against them, which the NRL later admitted were wrong.

"Thankfully for us, we kept fighting and kept staying in there, and still gave ourselves an opportunity, but we weren't quite good enough," said Kearney.

"We got an email at the start of the week that they were going to look at the crowding of the play-the-ball and that it's taking too long for guys to get off tackles. I'm watching tonight and I'm thinking I don't know if they sent themselves that email."

Despite the outburst, Kearney was adamant his players only have themselves to blame for the loss.

"We put a lot of effort and energy into our performance, but there were a couple of moments tonight where we didn't quite execute well enough.

"I thought some real courageous effort and energy out there, but it was probably one of those games that you'd classify as a missed opportunity."

The Warriors play the Gold Coast Titans in their next match on Sunday.

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