A "ridiculous" sin-binning of NZ Warriors forward Jazz Tevaga has arguably cost the club victory over Parramatta Eels in Gosford.
The Eels capitalised on a bemusing decision by referee Grant Atkins, scoring two tries in the 10 minutes Tevaga was off the park.
The Warriors would fight back from 16-0 down, losing 24-18 in an epic contest, but the sin-binning marred the contest.
Veteran rugby league broadcaster Andrew Vos has called the incident the "worst sin-binning I've ever seen," while colleague Greg Alexander says it was a "ridiculous call from Atkins".
At the 17th minute mark, Tevaga was attempting to fight his way to his feet to play the ball under fiery Eels forward Nathan Brown.
Brown appeared to drive his head into Tevaga's, which triggered a reaction from the No.13.
Tevaga grabbed hold of Brown's collar and pushed towards his face, sparking a pull-apart between the two.
Moments later, after a protest from Eels halfback Mitchell Moses, Atkins reviewed the incident and sent Tevaga to the bin.
"You've struck him in the head," Atkins told Tevaga.
"If that's the benchmark for a sin-bin, rugby league has changed forever," Voss said.
"That's ridiculous, that really is ridiculous,” Alexander said. "He still had hold of his collar and pushed his hand up into his face, so what?
"He pushed his hand forward, just pushed... it's like a push."
The Warriors playoff hopes are now in tatters after the six-point loss, needing to win their final three games and hope other results go their way.
The Eels opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Mika Sivo, adding a further two tries during Tevaga's spell on the sideline. Blake Ferguson and Jai Field crossed for tries to give the Eels a commanding 16-0 lead after 27 minutes.
But the Warriors fought back in trademark fashion, with Chanel Harris-Tavita grabbing a stunning brace of tries in a matter of minutes.
The halfback's bomb was batted back by Hayze Perham, before some razzle-dazzle final-play football led to a Kodi Nikorima kick, with Harris-Tavita winning the race to score the Warriors' first.
Moments later, the 21-year-old was on the spot again, after a wonderful run from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, whose speculating pass was toed ahead by Nikorima for Harris-Tavita to score.
The Eels added a fourth try midway through the second half to stretch their lead to 10, before Hayze Perham gave his side hope for the final quarter, scoring off the back of an opportunistic kick from Gerald Beale.
Peta Hiku went close in the final minute, but the Eels held on for a vital win in their push for a top-four finish.
Next week, the Warriors play eighth-placed Cronulla Sharks, while the Eels host table-topping Penrith Panthers.
Join us at 8:30pm Sunday for live updates of the Warriors v Sharks NRL clash
