Baffled coaches may disagree after a last-round howler, but NRL referees boss Daniel Anderson insists the standard of video refereeing has improved this year.
It appeared to be a weekend to forget for the men in the video box after a couple of controversial calls - none more so than Penrith centre Dean Whare's sideline effort in a 32-14 loss to Newcastle on Sunday.
Knights mentor Wayne Bennett claimed Whare's try defied the laws of physics but the Panthers flyer was given the green light despite replays showing his left hand dragging against the sideline.
It came barely 24 hours after Parramatta coach Ricky Stuart was left scratching his head when rookie winger Brayden Wiliame was denied against Canberra despite replays indicating a fair try.
But asked if overall the video refereeing standard had improved since last year, Anderson told AAP on Monday: "They have improved.
"In fact, I am very confident of that."
However, Anderson was reluctant to expand with a review still pending on last round's refereeing performance.
"We are still conducting our evaluation and I certainly don't speak to the press before I speak to the video referees," he said.
"We don't meet until Tuesday morning and I won't be speaking publicly until I speak to the staff."
However, video referees Luke Phillips and Justin Morgan face a nervous wait after awarding the Whare try and raising the ire of the NRL's most successful coach.
"The point was his hand was on the sideline - that's clear evidence that it wasn't a try," seven-time premiership winner Bennett said.
"There's no way that he's taken a hand off the ground and then replaced it there - you can't do that, it just doesn't happen."
Last November Anderson received the referees' reins under a dramatic new restructure, replacing Stuart Raper and Bill Harrigan after a 2012 season plagued by controversy.
Their fate appeared to be sealed when Raper admitted the video referee was wrong to award Manly a match-sealing try in their 2012 elimination final win over North Queensland due to a blatant Kieran Foran knock-on.
NRL officials reportedly were happy with the performance of video referees this season before the last round - one credited with the use of more former players in the box.
However, there are fresh concerns over video referees after ex-players Phillips and Morgan gave Whare the green light on Sunday, leaving coaches confused in the run-in to the finals series.
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