10 May 2023

Warriors say they don't get treated unfairly

5:54 am on 10 May 2023
Warriors captain Tohu Harris watches on as Jackson Ford is sent to the sin-bin.

Tohu Harris watches as Jackson Ford is sin-binned Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Warriors captain Tohu Harris is brushing off suggestions his side gets treated unfairly in the NRL.

The Auckland-based club have lost their last three games and coach Andrew Webster is meeting with NRL referees to get clarity on some decisions that have gone against the club.

NRL head of football Graham Annesley was unimpressed with the response from club sponsor One New Zealand's chief executive Jason Paris, who wrote on social media that the referees had a bias against the Warriors.

It followed the Warriors loss to Penrith on Saturday.

Paris has since withdrawn his accusation against NRL referees of "cheating of the highest order."

Harris believes the players need to take responsibility for how they respond to referee's decisions.

"The referee's job is a tough job, I certainly don't envy the position they're in, Harris said from Australia as they prepare for this weekend's game against the Bulldogs.

"But we've got to make it easier on ourselves with certain areas of the game that if we get right then those 50/50 calls don't hurt as much if they do go against us."

Harris says they won't be side-tracked by the issue.

He says the players don't pay attention to suggestions that there is a bias against the club by officials.

"We can't buy into it, we can't start feeling sorry for ourselves because once we start doing that then the important focus areas start slipping away and you just get a team that feels hard done by.

"We've got to make sure we leave nothing to chance and we do a better job in terms of actions on the field and not letting those 50/50 calls affecting the game."

Coach Andrew Webster doesn't believe referees in the NRL are cheating.

Webster says the club has a different view to their sponsor.

"There's not one part of us that thinks the referees are going out there to purposely hurt the Warriors opportunity to win a game of football.

"I want to be strong, I feel their integrity should be intact and they're doing a great job.

"There are times when we great frustrated by any coach but I want to be clear that that's not our stance and that's not how we feel."