Cowboys coach Todd Payten said he would “hate for a big game to be decided” by a similar call to the one that saw Mitchell Moses kick a game-winning penalty goal on Saturday night.
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North Queensland’s finals hopes hit a snag with a surprise 32-30 loss to the Eels, who kicked ahead in the dying stages of the game through the boot of Moses.
That came after centre Tom Chester was ruled to have collected a falling Moses high after he knocked the ball on as the Eels halfback scrambled on the last tackle in the facing of a rushing North Queensland defensive line.
It was one of the few times on Saturday night that the Cowboys showed desperation in defence, with Payten making it clear the controversial call was “not the reason” his team lost.
“But I would hate for a big game to be decided by that call.
“The fact that (Moses) had actually dropped the ball and that play was essentially dead or over, and for the Bunker to intervene like that, it’s hard to cop.
“Mitch is on the ground, but we had several chances to ice the game. You get what you deserve.”
It was a similar message from Cowboys captain Reuben Cotter, who said he was “disappointed” by the call and felt like “common sense” had to “prevail”.
“In saying that it’s not the reason we lost the game, but (Chester) was making a play for the ball and Moses knocked the ball on before that. It’s not the reason we lost the game,” he added.
Moses, meanwhile, said while he could understand Payten’s frustration he was just “playing (by) the rules”.
“If you get hit in the head, you get hit in the head. I can’t really say anything else here,” he told reporters.
“Obviously I’m very low, I understand (that), but I got hit in the head. I am just playing (by) the rules.”
“We don’t make the rules, we just play by (them),” added Eels coach Jason Ryles.
