Canterbury coach Des Hasler said there was more evidence the NRL's video refereeing system would need a complete summer overhaul after a stoppage-strewn second elimination final at AAMI Park.
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If three tries by centre Tim Lafai and the possible end of an era in Melbourne were talking points out of Canterbury's 28-4 win, then so too were the four players reported and a disallowed Sisa Waqa try.
Hasler's Storm counterpart Craig Bellamy, for his part, said he agreed with the club's former half, Brett Finch, who said in commentary that Michael Ennis patting Cameron Smith on the head constituted a "lack of respect".
"It seems to be common in the game these days," he said. It might be a Gen-Y thing."
Hasler labelled the reporting of David Klemmer and Josh Morris "lame" and said big changes needed to occur regarding the involvement of the video referee in future matches.
"During the off-season, there's plenty of scope and there's plenty that can be done with the video referees," Hasler said.
"I look forward to that and to hearing about it. They've got to get it right, we're going to need some input from everybody about it.
"We've just got to get the weight right between technology and interpretation."
Morris was reported for a chicken wing tackle - "I thought we just had hold of his arm," said Hasler - while Klemmer also was accused of dangerous contact. "It was just a good tackle," reckoned the coach.
Ennis said: "The technology's there so they use it. I dare say this time of year, they want to make sure they get the calls right."
Asked what he thought when Waqa appeared to have scored his second try in three minutes, Hasler said: "It's always difficult. But for the majority of the match, I thought we were in control. It'll be another tough road, we'll just continue to make up the numbers.
"We'll just keep working hard."
Asked if Manly would be favourite in the next round, Hasler said: "Of course they will. What else would they be?"
He said any focus on the fact he took Manly to previous grand finals was "all part of the theatre but it's been three or four years now".
The Dogs will definitely be without unfortunate prop Pat O'Hanlon, who broke his leg in a sickening second-half accident.
Bellamy said the disallowed Waqa try, after video referees wound the tape back through a string of passes, should not be blamed for the defeat. "I thought it was a poor decision but at the end of the day, it had nothing to do with the result," the coach said. "From the information you could see there, when the referee gave the try there, I didn't think there was enough conclusive evidence to overturn it."
Captain Cameron Smith, meanwhile, said the club had lost one of its strongest qualities during the last two years and would have to work all summer to get it back.
"It wasn't like we were playing well and the Bulldogs were playing better than us," said the Australian captain. "We were playing fairly average at best. We were almost handing tries on a platter for them."