Episode 122: Ref chaos, Warriors woes and Barnett + Martin speak

I'm going to start this by saying the Warriors had opportunities to win that game and they were not good enough.

They didn't execute in the red zone.

They didn't get enough out of their kicking game.

Ultimately, they had two home finals games and they blew it.

The Warriors weren't good enough and the team has to wear it.

However, the loss to the Knights at Eden Park was marred by three highly controversial and quite frankly shocking officiating decisions.

Tamari Martin did not strip the ball from Greg Maju.

He was clearly wrapping his arms in the tackle and got bumped off.

Tyson Frizzell ran a blatant escort to prevent Aaron Clark from challenging Fletcher Sharp for a late bomb.

His arms up in the air pretending to catch the ball, Frizzell ran directly across Clark.

He was never in a position to catch it.

In fact, he was over a metre away from where it was eventually caught.

It was pantomime and the referees fell for it hook, line and sinker.

The Ali Leotawa knock-on.

I actually thought it probably did touch his thumb.

However, because of referee Ashley Cline's on-field decision, they needed conclusive evidence and they didn't have it.

However, none of this excuses the shocking treatment of the officials from Warriors fans as they left the field.

From the view of the Eden Park press box, I watched fully grown adults launching cans of beer at the referees as they exited the field.

I don't care what happened in the game.

If you think that that is okay, you are a loser and you need to get a grip.

I know the fan base is hurting.

I know the instinct is to blame the officials.

And while there are certainly grounds to complain, the Warriors ultimately were not good enough.

Michael Burgess, senior New Zealand Herald writer.

It feels a bit like someone's died.