Mitch Moses has admitted he was left confused by an inability to challenge a crucial officiating decision right before half time which cost the Eels a golden tryscoring opportunity in a 22-20 golden point loss to the Tigers.

With three minutes left in the first half, Eels prop Jack Williams made a break down the right sideline and almost reached the tryline before being brought to the ground by Adam Doueihi and Api Koroisau.

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Williams then got up to quickly play the ball before losing it forward with several Tigers draped on him.

Gough called it a knock on as he didn’t believe a tackle had been complete, with Moses quick to remonstrate.

“I want to challenge. He’s getting up to play the ball,” Moses said.

“You want to challenge? I hadn’t ruled the tackle complete. It’s a lost ball,” Gough replied to the Eels skipper, essentially telling him he wasn’t going to win if he fired in a protest.

Moses provided more detail into his conversation with Gough in the Eels’ post-game press conference.

“Well, he (Williams) felt like he was held and had about four players on him, so he’s trying to get up and play the ball. So I asked to challenge it then he (Gough) said that he hadn’t called held yet so there was no point in me challenging it because I was never going to win it,” Moses explained to reporters.

“He pretty much told me not to challenge it, because he told me he didn’t say held. There’s no way I was going to win that.”

Moses baffled by ref explanation | 00:48

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Coach Jason Ryles then interjected, believing if Williams had got up and made an effort to cross the tryline and scored, it would have been a double movement.

“That’s what I’m saying. If he had a crack there, then I don’t know,” Moses said.

While Ryles and Moses were frustrated with how that moment played out, they stressed it wasn’t the reason they lost.

“For me with the ref, we don’t let that come into it. That’s not why we lost,” Ryles said.

“They’ve got a hard job. They are put in some pretty high-pressure situations and if we got the back end of our first half right, we wouldn’t have had to worry about the ref.

“It’s just another situation that everyone can learn from, I hope.”

It was another tough game on the injury front for the Eels as well.

With Isaiah Iongi (two months, ankle) and J’maine Hopgood (season, ACL) already sidelined, winger Bailey Simonsson is also looking at a massive stint out after suffering a dislocated ankle.

Tigers youngster sin binned! | 00:45

Like Iongi and Hopgood, Simonsson’s injury came from an incident which was ruled to be foul play when he was tackled in the air by his opposite winger.

“It just happens that it’s foul play that is injuring the guys. There are two season-enders and an eight-weekers, and now another one,” Ryles said.

“Those contests happen every week. The players don’t mean to do it, we understand that, but there is a reason those actions are outlawed.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say or do, but that’s what we sign up for each week. It’s just another opportunity for our next player up.”

Ryles was also asked about whether the Eels will chase any potential dispensation from the NRL but said that decision will be made by the higher-ups at the club.