Jason Ryles couldn't resist one final parting shot on his way out the door.
As the Parramatta coach rose from his seat at the post-match press conference following a heavy 36-14 shellacking at the hands of the Warriors, he paused and turned the microphone back on.
"No questions on the officiating?" he said.
It was a loaded grenade tossed casually over the shoulder, and it landed loudly.
The thinly-veiled jab at referee Gerard Sutton was short on specifics but long on implication, though the numbers told at least part of the story.
The Eels gave away eight penalties to the Warriors' three, a lopsided count that clearly sat uncomfortably with Ryles, even as his side actually committed fewer ruck infringements than New Zealand's seven.
Ryles was careful not to pin the entire disaster on the officials, admitting his side did a fine job of self-sabotage.
"I don't think the score line reflected the fight and the effort that we displayed tonight," Ryles said.
"A lot of our fundamental errors, and I'm not saying just with the ball, but the escort penalties and the kick-pressure penalties hurt us.
"A lot of them were out of yardage and after we'd done good things. A lot of good signs there with our fight and our effort, but we just can't keep continually putting ourselves under pressure with those fundamental errors."
The Warriors ran riot at Commbank Stadium, crossing for six tries, with three of them after the 63rd minute to ice a contest the Eels had threatened to claw back into.
A Mitchell Moses error proved to be the killer blow, gifting Alofiana Khan-Pereira a try that put the result beyond doubt.
He was equally forthright in his assessment, calling the defeat flat-out "upsetting."
"We're doing it to ourselves, like we are hurting ourselves. Too many errors, too many yardage penalties, and we are putting ourselves under the pump," Moses said.
"A good team like that, they like to hold the ball, and they take their chances when they do, and they finished us off with 15 minutes to go."
Off the field, Parramatta's injury woes deepened with hooker Ryley Smith the latest name added to an already crowded casualty ward.
There is, however, a silver lining, as halfback Jonah Pezet is edging closer to a return from a hamstring strain after appealing in NSW Cup on Saturday, where the Eels won 42-14.
Ronald Volkman has put in solid performances in the last few games, including a double against the Warriors, making the selection process not easy.
"I'll just wait and see, have a look at the tape again and then we'll sort of review it from there and see what the best combination and best fit is going forward," Ryles commented.
The Eels' next game won't be an easy one again, as they head to Townsville to play the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 10.
