The NRL has warned Parramatta captain Mitch Moses to tone down his aggression when speaking to referees following the fiery golden-point loss to Wests Tigers on Easter Monday.
Moses said after full-time the Eels could not blame the match officials for their 22-20 defeat but nevertheless received a concerning act notice from the league on Tuesday morning.
The notice is considered a formal warning to remain civil when speaking to officials and does not come with a fine or suspension.
The halfback made light, non-aggressive contact with Peter Gough more than once during the match as the pair addressed officiating decisions.
Moses had at other times struggled to hide his frustrations with the refereeing, especially during the first half.
Eels centre Sean Russell concussed himself clashing heads with Heamasi Makasini, only to also be penalised and placed on report for rushing out of the line.
The Tigers' first try came directly after the unusual HIA-and-penalty combination as Adam Doueihi grabbed a flick pass from Kai Pearce-Paul.
Pearce-Paul appeared to illegally strip the ball from Brian Kelly in a three-man tackle ahead of the Tigers' next try.
Down 12-10, the Eels looked to take a lead into their sheds when makeshift centre Jack Williams charged down the right edge.
He was tackled by Doueihi only centimetres from the line and then ruled to have knocked on, despite possible interference from Tigers hooker Api Koroisau.
Gough warned Moses against using his captain's challenge to query the incident as he had not called held before Williams dropped the ball.
"There was no point in me challenging it because I was never going to win it," Moses said.
"He pretty much told me not to challenge it because he told me he didn't say held.
"(The refereeing) is not why we lost ... it's got nothing to do with the ref."
Coach Jason Ryles echoed Moses' sentiment after the Eels gave up a 10-0 lead to lose in extra time.
"(The referees) have got a hard job, they get put in some pretty high-pressure situations," he said.
"If we got the back-end of our first half right, we wouldn't have had to worry about the ref."
