Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart didn't want to take away from one of the greatest games in recent memory, but couldn't help but feel the match officials got it "100 per cent wrong" when Reece Walsh wasn't sent off for a headbutt.
The Brisbane fullback spent ten minues in the sin bin during the second half of the game for a headbutt on Hudson Young, who was also sin binned in the same incident for holding onto Walsh, leading to the push and shove between the two teams.
Stuart didn't outright say Walsh should have been sent off, but, in replying to a question, said the NRL referees have set a new precedent - that players are allowed to headbutt.
"It doesn't matter what I think about it," Stuart said during his post-match press conference when asked about the Walsh-Young incident.
"They have set a precedent now. You're allowed to headbutt."
Captain Joseph Tapine admitted he couldn't understand why Hudson Young faced the same penalty out of the incident, claiming the in-form Canberra second-rower was only celebrating the play where a mistake had been forced.
"The ref said he got in his face, I said you're allowed to celebrate a play. I said if I was to celebrate and someone punched me, am I in the wrong for celebrating?" Tapine said of his on-field interaction with referee Ashley Klein after the incident.
"I don't know how they got the penalty to be honest.
Stuart, while keen to not make the game - which lasted 94 minutes - about the decision, said the decision was wrong.
"Let's not make it about that. It was a wonderful game of footy, two good footy teams. Some outstanding footballers out there. It was an unbelievable spectacle for rugby league," Stuart said.
"And then they got it 100 per cent wrong, but we shouldn't make it about that because it was an unbelievable promotion for the game itself. What both teams and the players went through, [94 minutes], it just goes to show you how tough these players are. It goes to show you the resillience that elite rugby players have got."
Reece Walsh will be sweating on the NRL's match review committee charge sheet in the morning, but he won't be the only Bronco in that boat, with Patrick Carrigan also spending ten minutes prior to Brisbane's incredible comeback in the sin bin for a high tackle.
While Michael Maguire couldn't be drawn for an opinion on the headbutt, Carrigan admitted it wasn't ideal spending time in the sin bin.
"Obviously going to the sin bin isn't ideal, but to be honest I thought I had a head clash with him and he has a tough head. I haven't seen the angle of it, but like Madge said, we will have to wait and see," Carrigan said.
The Broncos now have a week off before a home preliminary final against either the Canterbury Bulldogs or Penrith Panthers, while the Raiders have just six days to pick themselves up and take on the Cronulla Sharks next Saturday evening in an sudden death semi-final.
The Sharks will head into the game with an extra day's rest after they beat the Sydney Roosters in an elimination final on Saturday evening, but Stuart said his side will have a low impact week, and backed them as good enough to get the job done.
"I've got to pick them up, I've got to pick me up, and we spoke about that, but if you're not hurting right now, you shouldn't be doing the job," Stuart said.
"You have to remember there have been a number of games we have won like that. I imagine how Ivan [Cleary] and his team [the Panthers] were feeling three weeks ago in Mudgee the way we won that game. It's part of our job, we have to be professional enough. We will have a day off tomorrow and get going again.
"We won't alter the schedule, but we certainly won't be doing a lot of work this week. If you need to be doing a lot of work at this time of year, you're probably doing something wrong. The most important thing for us after playing 94 minutes is getting players up physically."
I won’t be drawn on sin-bin v send-off for Walsh or nothing v sin-bin for Young, but I do feel that the two players did not deserve the _identical_ punishment.