Matt Neill refused to say a contentious late decision was the sole reason the Dubbo Rhinos missed out on a first New Holland Agriculture Cup win of the season on Saturday, but he confessed it was one which was "hard to swallow".
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The Rhinos went down to the Parkes Boars by four points on Saturday afternoon, but a spear tackle on the host's fullback Dale Smith late in the game that resulted in no send-off or card was a talking point after the final whistle.
Referee Stacey Irvine and his touch judges didn't get a clear view of the incident as they followed the ball when Smith passed prior to being tackled, so there was no card shown and while the Rhinos were given a penalty they failed to find touch with the kick and the Boars regrouped and held on to win an enthralling contest.
"I've never not seen a tackle like that go to a card," Rhinos captain Neill said.
"Most times I see that go to a red card so I don't understand it. The referee explained to me he didn't get a clear number (on Parkes jerseys) but had an idea of one of the players involved so I thought he would have gone to the bin.
"We had momentum, Dale got the pass away and we were in an attacking position and we were given a penalty 20 metres back from where we were attacking and they didn't have a player sent off.
"We need referees and I respect his decision but I feel like it was a hard one to swallow.
"If it was my guy and he'd been sent off I would have worn it on the chin."
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Neill didn't go as far as saying it cost his side, with a poor start to the second half and a blistering spell of play from Parkes' Rusiate Lawanikula major reasons the Rhinos slumped to a sixth successive loss.
Both sides struggled to hold the ball early in the game but after the Rhinos had a try ruled out after a player was judged to have taken out one of the Boars off the ball, they opened the scoring via a Chris Sellings penalty goal on 19 minutes.
Parkes, led by a strong forward pack, hit back with a penalty of their own but the Rhinos' lead grew to 8-3 when Ririwai Fox finished off a slick attack.
But things soon changed when Parkes' Lawanikula came off the bench.
A barnstorming run for 'Rusi' led to his side's first try and the Boars went into the break with a 10-8 lead.
The men in maroon then came flying out of the sheds and scored twice in the first seven minutes after the restart.
Lawanikula again smashed his way over from close range to extend the lead before experienced Central West campaigner Dan Ryan reached out to plant down another to set up a 24-8 lead.
The Boars failed to take chances following that and after some sustained pressure from the Rhinos Neill crossed to get his side going and then some Rodney Jackson magic set up a try for Alex Burke soon after.
Winger Jackson had little room to move when he received the ball close to the halfway line, but while showing great speed he brilliantly jinked and stepped his way into space and put Burke over for a simple finish.
Sellings' boot made it 28-24 and while the Rhinos had their late chance in a dramatic finish, nothing came of it.
"That drop after half-time, 10-15 minutes and two quick tries," Neill said of the key moment.
"We end up losing by four points and it was also another game where we missed two conversions. I'm not blaming the kicker, they're hard kicks, but they (Parkes) scored under the sticks and we didn't.
"But there was that 15 minute period where we dropped off and that's probably the difference."
Parkes stalwart Ryan was proud to see his side grind its way to just a second win this season and highlighted Lawanikula's performance.
"Rusi is good coming off the bench and really puts some flair in the forward pack," Ryan said.
"That's what we needed today so it was really handy."
The Boars have been getting better numbers to training in recent weeks and the improvement was clear to see on Saturday, with the scrum in particular a real area of strength for last season's grand finalists.
"It's what we practice, as well," Ryan said.
"Forward dominated-play using the lineout and set piece, that kind of thing, and it showed today."
- PARKES BOARS 24 (Rusiate Lawanikula 2, Dan Ryan tries; Sam Davis penalty, 3 conversions) defeated DUBBO RHINOS (Ririwai Fox, Matt Neill, Alex Burke tries; Chris Sellings penalty, conversion)