Doggone it: Montoya try should've been given, says Annesley

NRL head of football Graham Annesley has conceded the Bulldogs were denied a possible try to Marcelo Montoya in the first half of the side's two-point loss to the Eels on Sunday.

Montoya was in a position to finish off a set move on the left edge but on-field referee Chris Sutton penalised Raymond Faitala-Mariner for impeding Mitchell Moses in the lead-up.

Rather than allow the try-scoring opportunity to continue, Sutton made the decision without the assistance of the NRL Bunker.

However, Annesley confirmed the call was worthy of a second opinion and was confident if the incident was referred, the Bulldogs should have received the green light.

Canterbury conceded a try to Eels captain Clint Gutherson five minutes later.

"Raymond Faitala-Mariner looks like he might receive the ball and you can see Moses right in front of him squaring up ready to tackle him," Annesley said on Monday.

"He certainly thinks he's going to receive the ball. The ball goes behind Faitala-Mariner and Moses goes in and makes the tackle he was always going to make.

"In this case, we'd call that a poor defensive read. That is not an obstruction in the way that obstructions are determined in the modern game."

Annesley said he would continue to back referees to make a call on the paddock but they had the tools on this occasion to back up the decision.

"I think if he [Sutton] had his time again, he probably would let it play out," he said.

"They were in a try-scoring situation and he always had the option if they scored to go back and check for obstruction.

"We've talked in the past of the referees relying too much on the Bunker, so in some ways, you've got to give the referee some kudos for having the courage of his conviction.

"But, if you're going to do that, you need to come up with the right decision, but it wasn't the right decision.

"I'm absolutely confident that if that had gone to the Bunker, that would have been ruled as a poor defensive read and a try."

It ended up proving a costly decision for the Bulldogs, who were mounting a comeback in the second half but fell short to an Eels side who lacked a killer blow in the final 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, Annesley had no issue with a deliberate pass to the sidelines from Maika Sivo in the final play of the game after claims he deliberately threw it forward, saying the ball went backwards out of his hands as he flung it over the sideline.