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Controversy reigned when the Sea Eagles beat the Cowboys 22-12 in the second week of last year's finals series, eliminating them from the competition. 

The Cowboys were outraged at two controversial video refereeing decisions that awarded tries to their opponents in the second half, with the semi-final in the balance. 

The first ruling by Steve Clark and Paul Simpkins in the video referees' box was that Sea Eagles winger Jorge Taufua had correctly grounded the ball for a try. The second was that Sea Eagles five-eighth Kieran Foran didn't knock the ball on in the lead-up to a try by winger Michael Oldfield. 

The Cowboys were adamant the video referees were wrong on both occasions, but particularly when it came to the Oldfield try, with video replays appearing to show Foran knocking on as he contested a high-bouncing ball. 

The dubious tries effectively made the difference between the two teams in the end, and led to Cowboys coach Neil Henry branding the video referees as "incompetent", and the decision-making process as "a lottery". 

Oldfield grabbed a double in the four-tries-to-two win.

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