North Queensland Cowboys head coach Todd Payten has been hit with a 'final warning' by the NRL for his comments regarding the standard of NRL officiating.

Payten's latest tirade came on Saturday evening after his side drew with the Penrith Panthers.

The NRL said in a statement released on Thursday that Payten was now on a final warning for 'persistent and consistent criticism', with his comments dating back as far as 2020.

"The NRL has issued Cowboys coach Todd Payten with a final warning for repeated and consistent criticism of NRL Match Officials," the NRL wrote in a statement.

"The final warning relates to comments made by Mr Payten following Round 10 of the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership and as far back as 2020.

"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.

"All Rugby League participants are reminded to respect referees and Match Officials who perform a vital and integral role within the game."

The NRL recently increased the level of scrutiny for coaches making comments against referees, but that didn't stop him after the game against Penrith.

In one part of his tirade, Payten suggested players in his team performing as badly as the match officials would be dropped.

"It's so frustrating. We want consistency and we aren't getting it. I'm confused what's a high shot and what's not. I'm sure everyone else is. I'm pretty close to action as well, so I'll talk to the NRL during the week and go through the right channels, but it's just white noise," Payten said during his post-match press conference.

"No one is held accountable for it. If it's my player making error after error, or a couple of howlers, then there is a fair chance he isn't in the team."

In another part of his comments, Payten interrupted captain Tom Dearden who was attempting to explain why his side have been suffering from slow starts to take a second shot at the state of officiating.

"One of the tries was off a forward pass. So I tell you how to fix that. Make the fu... Make the right call. There was a try off a kick, our kick defence can be better, but those things at the start of the time can really hurt the spirit of the team. To be fair, they stayed calm and connected and fought to get back into it," Payten said.

"But again, that's right in front of the touch judge. It was half a metre, a metre forward. There was one here against the Titans that was three metres forward. They have such a huge impact in the game. Get it right."

Payten, who came under the spotlight a handful of times last year for comments against referees, was also quoted heavily after his club's first win of the year this season, suggesting there was no consistency from match officials.