Griffiths said there was several instances where he was unhappy with refereeing decisions, including a trip by a Lakes player that led to a Kurri penalty but no sin binning.

“It’s an offence I believe he should have been sidelined for,” Griffiths said of the trip. 

The Kurri coach said his side pressed Lakes throughout the clash but claimed they were hindered by the match officials’ decisions at crucial moments.

“We played well, I thought we were the better team. I thought we had them under the pump.”

Griffiths claimed the perceived rough calls were a consistent theme throughout the year. 

“I don’t envy the job they have to do but we never seem to get a call at Kurri,” he said. 

“I really feel for our blokes who train all week and then have to deal with that.”

Aside from the match officials, Griffiths said he was happy with the effort his team put into the match, played on Old Boys’ Day at Kurri Kurri. 

Griffiths singled out makeshift prop Jayden Young and 19-year-old second-rower Reed Alchin for specific praise. 

“He won the coach’s award after the game. He’s got a lot of potential,” Griffiths said of Alchin.

Kurri will finish their season when they take on second-placed Macquarie next weekend. 

Griffiths said motivation wouldn’t be an issue for the last-placed Bulldogs.

“We’ve talked about it. Even though we’re not playing for semis, we’re playing to set up our systems that we want to use,” he said.