Raiders coach Darrin Borthwick has lashed out at the referees over what he describes as inconsistent calls during Saturday's NRLW loss to the Cowboys.
The Raiders went down 28-18 against North Queensland at Canberra Stadium, despite a stunning debutant try from Felice Quinlan.
Borthwick said he could no longer be quiet after a number of decisions that he claims could have gone either way on Saturday.
"There was some calls out there that got missed, I was quiet on it last week [in Brisbane] but I can't be today, not at home," he said.
"You could see the players were frustrated and didn't know [the reason for the call], and to be fair, we were probably overreacting to and trying to find out what the cause was instead of actually play in the whistle.
"But ... especially when you're playing at home and you expect a bit more of a fair go and I just felt today, at times, it just looked like we were making things up out there."
Borthwick said he was aware how challenging it can be for the officials, but he expects better at the Raiders' home ground.
"I just ask for consistency and I'm not making excuses," he said.
"We didn't know what we needed to at times in that game out there. From where I was sitting just trying to work out a few of those calls, it's frustrating."
It was the Raiders' fourth loss in a row and they drop to eighth on the ladder, four points outside the top four. Heartbreakingly for the Raiders, they've been in every match, with their highest losing margin just 12 points.
With only four rounds left before the finals, Canberra must win at least three, possibly four, to make the play-offs for the first time.
Debutant's great try fails to lift the Raiders
The game wasn't all bad for the Raiders, with Felice Quinlan making the perfect start to her NRLW career as she scored a try in the first three minutes of her debut.
After a late change to the Raiders' line up when her sister Ash Quinlan bowed out due to illness, Felice Quinlan stole the show with her family going wild in the stands at Canberra Stadium.
Quinlan entered the action in the 41st minute to replace Kerehitina Matua and her name was quickly added to the scoresheet. Halfback Sereana Naitokatoka broke through several North Queensland defenders before a neat off-load found Quinlan, who dived over to score next the posts.
The Raiders trailed by just four points with three minutes remaining, but Jasmine Peters scored her second try of the match to seal victory for the visitors in the final minute.
The match started poorly for the Raiders, with the Cowboys' Vitalina Naikore scoring a try over them barely one minute after kick off.
Krystal Blackwell tore through the Raiders and ran the length of the field to score a leisurely try under the posts, providing an easy conversion for North Queensland to take the score to 10-0 in the 11th minute.
The Raiders had several chances to hit back, almost scoring a try in the eighth minute but dropping the ball, and Sophie Holyman coming within inches of the line on the last tackle of the set in the 17th minute.
It looked like a turn in the tide with rising star Grace Kemp coming on 18 minutes in, the prop almost immediately getting her hands on the ball, passing through to Sophie Holyman for a try right under the goalposts.
Zahara Temara converted the try to make it 10-6 to the Cowboys.
But it wasn't enough to stop the Cowboys' momentum and they took any gap the Raiders opened up, advancing down the field for another break with a pass through to Peters who tumbled across the line for the Cowboys' third try.
North Queensland took a comfortable lead into the second half after a slow peel from Apii Nicholls gave a penalty to the Cowboys, with Tiana Raftstrand-Smith running across the line for another four points in the 32nd minute.
A dropped ball minutes into the second half saw a turnover to the Cowboys, followed by debutant Quinlan's stunning debut try.
Simaima Taufan restored the Raiders' hope of a win with a try in the 65th minute, and conversion from Temara put the team just four points behind the Cowboys at 22-18.
AT A GLANCE
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 28 (Vitalina Naikore 2, Krystal Blackwell, Jasmine Peters 2, Tiana Raftstrand-Smith tries; Kirra Dibb goal) bt CANBERRA RAIDERS 18 (Sophie Holyman, Felice Quinlan, Simaima Taufa tries; Zahara Temara 3 goals).
