There were no shortages of excuses.
But Anthony Griffin didn't make any after Penrith's 13-6 NRL semi-final loss.
The Panthers coach refused to point the finger at referee Gerard Sutton's decision to stop play when Brisbane winger Corey Oates was knocked unconscious.
Fox Sports commentator Mark Gasnier was adamant it should have been play on with Penrith looked try-bound after Oates lost possession when he was left senseless in a sickening collision with teammate Anthony Milford in the 21st minute.
Instead Sutton blew the whistle and play was stopped for minutes as Oates was taken off the field in a medicab.
"I am not going to complain about referees. We had our opportunities to win the football game," Griffin said upon his return to Sydney on Saturday.
"That is probably indicative of the whole year. There have been some calls in different moments of the game.
"But as a team and a club we are not going to sit back and complaint about referee calls."
However, Gasnier believed Sutton's call cost Penrith a try at a crucial time in the sudden-death clash.
"It's big. If I'm Corey Oates' mum or dad sitting there watching (I understand play being stopped) ... but then you're a Penrith Panthers fan, to the letter of the law that's play on," Gasnier said on Fox Sports.
"Because they didn't regather the football, the Brisbane Broncos.
"If they did that would have constituted a knock on and a scrum being packed.
"But the ball lay there, they picked it up and they ran. And that would have been 6-6."
An NRL spokesman said the referee had the discretion to stop play if a serious injury was suspected.
Meanwhile, Griffin did not wonder what might have been if he had his captain Matt Moylan for the finals.
Playmaker Moylan was granted personal leave and underwent counselling before the finals started amid reports he had fallen out with his coach.
"We had a team out there that was capable of doing the job," Griffin said.
"But when you play semi-final football you only get one or two opportunities, and that was the difference -- Brisbane took theirs.
"It was two good sides going flat out for 80 minutes last night. It was a real semi-final.
"We will learn from that and be better next time we get our opportunity."
Moylan has reportedly been courted by eight clubs since taking leave.
Griffin said he could not provide any update on how long Moylan would remain on leave.
"We have no control over that," he said.
"Our club has been up front and spoken about it. It's a process that our player is going through.
"We care for him to put him through that process. That's all I can tell you about it."
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