Just two days after their shock loss to New Zealand in the Rugby League World Cup final, the Australian coaches and players are showing their true colours with some bizarre outburst about the game.

There were a couple of controversial incidents in the game, and both decisions did go the Kiwis way. First Jerome Ropati scored a try after Benji Marshall appeared to knock on, then the Kiwis were awarded a penalty try after Lance Hohaia was taken out by Joel Monaghan.

Australian coach Ricky Stuart made the bizzare claim that his team had been “stitched up” by tournament organisers, saying that a victory by anyone other than Australia would dampen the claims that this tournament had been a one horse race. Stuart apparently had a verbal altercation with ARL chief Geoff Carr immediately after the match.

Prop Brent Kite was also critical of the decision to award New Zealand a penalty try when Hohaia was taken out by Monaghan chasing a grubber kick into the in goal. When asked if fullback Billy Slater would have got to the ball ahead of Hohaia had he not been taken out Kite replied “Of course he would have, I think anyone could have seen that.”

Unfortunately for Australia, unaccumstomed to losing in rugby league, the penalty try decision was probably a good one. Hohaia was a metre from the ball when he was taken out, and probably would have taken the ball before it next bounced and scored at Slater’s feet.

Even the laws of the game seem to be against the Australian conspiracy theory. Law 6.3 (d) the Referee may award a penalty try if, in his opinion, a try would have been scored but for the unfair play of the defending team.

Front rower Anthony Laffranchi also criticised the decision to award Ropati’s try after Marshall appear to knock on and a number of Kangaroos stopped playing, despite there being no whistle. “It was terrible, to be honest,” said Laffranchi.

But the way these incidents have been refereed has not changed in a number of year, as Laffranchie attempted to rake the ball from Marshall’s grasp in the tackle, negating any knock on. Channel 9’s Peter Stirling, himself a rugby league legend, put it best when he said, “If Laffranchie doesn’t play at that football, Marshall doesn’t lose it.”

While the controversial decisions did not help the Australians, the reason for their loss were best summed up by Fairfax league writers Jacquelin Magnay and Glenn Jackson who said: “While Stuart might have been upset with a few decisions, it was the errors of his team, coupled with a lacklustre forward pack, that cost them the game. Captain Darren Lockyer failed to ground a try, Billy Slater threw a ball direct to try-scoring Kiwi Benji Marshall and Joel Monaghan handed the Kiwis a penalty try after a deliberate and high tackle on Lance Hohaia.”