Scrap the bunker.
That was the blunt message from Wayne Bennett after the Brisbane master mentor admitted he could empathise with the two NRL coaches who were fined for blasting referees.
Bennett said the game needed less technology, not more, and believed the solution was ditching the NRL's $2 million state-of-the-art facility and going back to basics with one referee.
NRL boss Todd Greenberg called a media conference early this week to tell coaches to "grow up" after Cronulla's Shane Flanagan and Manly's Trent Barrett were fined a total of $50,000 for venting over referees as they bowed out of the finals.
But Bennett could feel for his fellow coaches ahead of Brisbane's knockout semi-final against Penrith.
"It's a difficult one. It is pretty unfair on the coaches because their season is finished and they are in a pretty bad emotional state," Bennett said.
"Then they go to a press conference and are asked about the referees - it's pretty hard not to say what you really think.
"I have a lot of empathy for them. It's the last place you want to be."
While Bennett could understand why Greenberg wanted to protect the referees, he believed the game would benefit from less technology - and no bunker.
"I would scrap the bunker - I would do it tomorrow," Bennett said.
"Personally, I didn't want it to come in in the first place.
"I think we need less technology than more; I hope we go that way in the future.
"The most popular sport in the world is soccer and the only technology is a ball going into the goal - they understand the ramifications if they have the technology and they don't want it.
"There are some good lessons out there but we are not looking at them hard enough."
Bennett said his 40 years of coaching told him to revert to one referee in the NRL.
"I have been watching a fair bit of English football and they do a good job with one ref," he said.
"Will coaches cop it (wrong decision) from one referee? They copped it for 90 odd years and lived with it (before the bunker).
"We got on with life then and didn't carry on like they are carrying on now.
"Everyone is looking for perfection all the time now - let's just get on with life."
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