NRL 2019 | Canberra Raiders end Penrith Panthers winning streak

Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has reportedly had a tunnel confrontation at halftime with referee Ashley Klein after an ongoing first half battle.

Ivan Cleary said it was "no big deal".

The Canberra Raiders have kept pace with the Sydney Roosters in the top four after a 30-18 win over the Penrith Panthers in a fiery affair.

The Raiders led 12-6 at halftime and tempers were frayed just before the break with James Maloney blowing up at referee Ashley Klein over after things started to get out of control just before the break.

With one minute left, Raiders forward Corey Horsburgh threw the ball at Reagan Campbell-Gillard after being flung to the turf after a forward pass.

It saw a big all in melee but no punches were thrown.

Klein still wanted to have a chat however.

After telling the captain’s to take control of their players, Klein had a special message for Maloney.

“You as captain are not setting a very good example,” Klein told Maloney. “You are questioning every decision. You will not come back and question the decisions in the second half.”

James Maloney is not happy to be dressed down.

A penalty with seconds left in the game saw Maloney blowing up again after not being allowed to take a quick tap.

Klein didn’t want to hear from Maloney after the penalty and as the players walked off the field, James Tamou sought clarification from the referee, especially after Dean Whare was sin binned in the 22nd minute, which directly led to a try after what was deemed a professional foul.

“With that one there, we’ve penalised it and deemed it was a professional foul,” Klein explained. “This one here, I thought it was a collision. I appreciate it if we were incorrect there but that’s how I’ve ruled it live. We just thought that was a collision.”

Tamou asked if he had looked at the replay, to which he replied he did not.

Klein then followed up with a warning for Maloney.

“I need you to speak to James Maloney,” he said. “I understand he becomes the captain when you’re off, but I’m not going to have him question every single decision that’s made on the field. We’re at the stage now where if he questions it again, he’s going straight to the bin.”

Panther coach Ivan Cleary reportedly went to confront Klein at halftime.

Sideline reporter Andy Raymond said on Fox League’s Sunday Night with Matty Johns that Klein and Tamou’s discussion was interrupted from the other side of the tunnel by coach Cleary, who “offered some advice” for the referee.

Referee Ashley Klein lays down the law.

“It’s strictly a no-no, it’s borne out of passion, it’s borne out the hunt for perfection but it’s obviously a very fine line as well,” he reported. “It’s a no-no and coaches can be fined severely for it but Ashley Klein thankfully didn’t hear it and it won’t be going into the official NRL report so maybe Ivan has escaped one here because quite simply, at any level of any sporting game, confronting the officials is something that we’re trying to discourage.”

Asked if he was frustrated and annoyed in his post-match press conference, Cleary said it wasn’t a big deal.

“I actually went to talk to our captain Jimmy Tamou to get him to talk to the refs,” he said post-match. “It’s like most games for us this year, there were definitely some line ball calls but they’re probably in every game. I’m sure if you went and asked the refs, they’d say the same thing.”

Cleary was cagey and said he may have spoken to them but it was “nothing untoward” and “no big deal”.

James Maloney was battling the refs throughout the afternoon.

Penrith were brought back to earth with a thud after having their seven-game NRL winning streak emphatically snapped 30-18 by Canberra.

The Panthers were on track for what would’ve equalled a club-record eighth- straight victory when they shot out to a 4-0 lead on Sunday in just the fourth minute.

But the Raiders wasted little time in taking the lead in the 15th minute, before kicking on with a dominant second half to claim their sixth win in seven games.

It was a resilient performance from Ricky Stuart’s men, who had to contend with defending eight of the opening nine sets of the match.

The victory consolidates Canberra’s grip on fourth spot, while the defeat for Penrith leaves them precariously placed in seventh position.

Canberra were holding onto a six-point lead at halftime but blew the game open with three tries in 13 minutes - all down their right edge.

— with AAP