Brisbane head coach Kevin Walters has supported Friday night's refereeing team for their decision to pay a late penalty in his side's 20-21 loss to the Roosters.

The controversial call was made less than a handful of minutes from full-time after youngster Tom Flegler was seen to have caught Chooks forward Sitili Tupouniua with a head high shot.

Despite trailing 20-19 prior to the penalty kick, Adam Keighran calmly put the Steeden over the black dot to collect both two-points from the tee and the pair of competition points on offer.

Although holding an allegiance to the eastern suburbs side, former Rooster Sonny Bill Williams said on Channel Nine's coverage of the clash that Fleger's hit had been unfairly adjudicated.

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Still, in the aftermath of the heartbreaking loss, Walters remained calm about the call.

"That's the way the game goes sometimes. Footy can be cruel, but it can also be a great game," he said post-game.

"If you're sitting in the Roosters sheds you love the game, if you're sitting in ours at the moment it's not so good.

"I don't think we were dudded, no. Referees are there to adjudicate and they adjudicated."

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 19: Kevin Walters, head coach of the Maroons during a Queensland Maroons State of Origin training session at HBF Park on June 19, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)

However, the club legend did believe that if the same call had been made in a Grand Final - an event his side are still some time away from realistically competing in - his views would almost certainly have been altered.

Walters' former Origin coaching counterpart Brad Fittler believed that the Red Hill side had no grounds for complaint.

"He still hit him around the head," the Roosters champion said.

"For 11 weeks they've tried to coerce players to bring down their tackles. They've slackened off a bit, as you can seeย during the game they get away with a few, but right at the death and because it was scrutinised and in slow-motion, he hit him in the head."

The improving Broncos will be afforded another chance to crack a win next Sunday afternoon when they face the New Zealand Warriors at 4:05pm local time.