Final warning: Cowboys coach cautioned for ref comments

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Final warning: Cowboys coach cautioned for ref comments

Todd Payten has been handed a final warning to stop criticising match officials after the North Queensland coach struggled to contain himself during a post-match tirade.

Payten took aim at a handful of refereeing decisions in his side’s 30-30 draw with Penrith last Saturday, saying he would not accept similar “howlers” from his players.

The coach felt the referees missed a forward pass ahead of a Penrith try and were incorrect to penalise Murray Taulagi for a high tackle that allowed the Panthers to move upfield and score.

“One of the (Panthers’) tries was off a forward pass so I tell you how to fix that. Make the right call … Get it right. Get it right,” Payten said.

“I’ll talk to the NRL through the week, go through the right channels, but it’s just white noise. ‘Yeah, we got that wrong’. But no one’s held accountable for it.

“If it’s my player making error after error, or a couple of howlers, then there’s a fair chance he’s not in the team.”

On Thursday, the NRL released a statement firing back at Payten for his “repeated and consistent criticism”, which the league said dated back five years.

While serving as interim Warriors coach in 2020, Payten said he had given referees boss Bernard Sutton a “piece of (my) mind” over calls that had “infuriated” him in a loss to Gold Coast.

In 2022, he questioned whether in-form teams were given “the benefit of the doubt” by referees more than their struggling rivals, and said later that season the bunker was “too inconsistent” in officiating sin bins.

The NRL has pledged a harsher stance on negative post-match commentary towards referees.

“Mr Payten has been reminded of his obligations under the NRL Rules and Code of Conduct as well as his general responsibility as a sporting leader to set an appropriate example to grassroots and junior participants across the broader rugby league community,” the NRL said in a statement.

Payten’s Cowboys host Manly on Saturday night.

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