Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters refused to comment on the officiating of his side’s contest against the Melbourne Storm because his “contract’s not big enough to pay the fine.”
The Broncos went down 24-16 to the Storm at AAMI Park in a fiery contest, making it 13 straight defeats for Brisbane against their rivals.
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Walters, who was celebrating his 300th game as a player and coach for the Broncos, was left “pretty frustrated” by how the game played out.
“We came here to play football and I just don’t feel we got a game of football,” Walters said in his post-match press conference.
“I’ll take the loss, we’ve lost before.
“But this is two good teams going at it and it didn’t become a game of football.”
When pressed on whether his players couldn’t find a rhythm due to the manner in which it was officiated, Walters didn’t dare broach the subject.
“I’m not sure how it happened,” Walters said.
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“We had two guys sin binned. Three guys. It’s hard to win when that happens.
“Were they fair sin bins? I won’t make any comment because my contract’s not big enough to pay the fine.”
Herbie Farnworth, Tom Flegler and Patrick Carrigan were all given 10 minutes in the bin, with Carrigan’s the most contentious of the lot.
The Broncos forward was adjudged to have brought Storm enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona to the ground with a hip-drop tackle, although several, including Walters, felt Carrigan simply slid down the Kiwi’s legs when making the challenge.
However, referee Todd Smith placed Carrigan on report and sent him for a spell on the sidelines despite the Broncos star’s protests.
Despite the defeat, the Broncos remain top of the ladder although a South Sydney Rabbitohs win would displace the Queensland-based side from the summit.
As for the Storm, they moved up to third.
