Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has somehow avoided being asked about the Bunker after his side were controversially denied two tries in a brutal loss to the Warriors.
Canberra prop Joe Tapine looked to have scored a try next to the posts in the 59th minute that would have put his side ahead 16-6 in Christchurch on Friday night.
After a lengthy review, the Bunker found a dubious knock on from Tapine in a decision that turned the game in the hosts favour.
The Warriors then marched down field and scored two tries in three minutes in what proved the final points of the match.
Tapine’s controversially disallowed try came after the Raiders were denied in similar fashion in the first half.
Teenager Ethan Strange barged his way to the line and the No. 6 looked to have planted the ball on the line in the 30th minute.
But referee Liam Kennedy, who had a forgettable night with the whistle, took issue with the grounding and called it a no try.
It went upstairs and Bunker official didn’t see enough to overturn the referee’s decision, as they rarely do on the 50-50 calls.
All eyes then turned to the post-match press conference of Canberra coach Ricky Stuart who described it as “a tough game” but the Christchurch media somehow didn’t ask him about the Bunker.
Instead, it was captain Elliott Whitehead was asked “how frustrating” it was having the Bunker decisions go against his side.
“Yeah look it can get frustrating but we’ve got a job to do and we have to look past that,” Whitehead said.
“I thought in parts of the game we were really good and in other parts we let ourselves down in terms of not finishing our sets.
“But look there was a lot of effort there and we knew coming over here it was going to be a tough game and unfortunately we just couldn’t get over the top of them tonight.”
Warriors coach Andrew Webster admitted the Raiders were in control of the match before the game-changing Bunker decision in the second half.
“They were definitely on top. Somebody was going to have to come up with a momentum play and there were a couple of huge plays and then somebody got us a penalty,” Webster said.
“They found a way to get it done at the end and I think there’s going to be a huge amount of relief from the boys.”
Source Agencies
