Bulldogs Coach Trent Barrett Is Fuming After Controversial 16-10 Loss To Broncos
Barrett is asking for an explanation from NRL officials about some of the decisions made in the game.
Canterbury Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett has asked for an explanation from NRL officials following his team's loss against the Broncos on Sunday (March 20) night.
In front of their home fans for the first time this season, the Bulldogs failed to secure the win against Brisbane, going down 16-10 after two late tries in what was a close encounter.
However, controversy marred the evening with two decisions from the officials potentially costing Bulldogs the game.
The first came in the build-up to Herbie Farnworth's first try for the Broncos, where he stripped Bulldog's Braidon Burns of the ball on the 40m line in the 51st minute in the midst of the fourth tackle in the set.
With three players involved in the tackle, Barrett felt the decision needed to be looked out.
The second ruling, however, seems to be the major concern for Barrett, who spoke to media after the game.
Coming off the back of a scrum Farnworth went for his second four-pointer, however, Barrett was left frustrated as an obstructing ruling against Corey Oates appeared to be missed.
Speaking to the media Barrett said: "The obstruction off the scrum - you can't do that and that will be something we need to get some answers on.
"I don't coach the players to lie down - maybe I will now.
"I've got no idea (why it wasn't a penalty), but I will ask them. He led at the outside shoulder of Braidon Burns, Okunbor thinks he has got help coming, but he didn't.
"It's in the rulebook and you can't do it - it cost us badly."
Brisbane coach Kevin Walters admitted that the decision did go favourably towards them.
He said: "We probably got a little bit of luck there ... 'Oatesy' did pull back on it. We will take that one, but it could have gone the other way.
Canterbury put in a good display against the Broncos despite the two decisions, however, Barrett still believed the Bulldogs should have put the game to bed.
He said: "Our defensive resolve was really good, but we left a lot of tries out there - I think we got over the line four times in the first half and then let two go there in the second half.
"I thought we should have iced that game there. We still had a lot of chances to win the game, but I thought we moved the ball a lot better than we have for a long time.
"We haven't got the polish there at the end to convert them, and that's something we have to keep working on.
"In terms of creating opportunities, we probably created eight tries but only came away with a couple."
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