However, Archer confirmed on Sunday that the Dragons should have been awarded a scrum feed and not a penalty as winger Jason Nightingale had played at the ball. Fired up: Gareth Widdop of the Dragons reacts after kicking the ball out on the full. Credit:Getty Images "For a player to remain offside under these circumstances, the referee needs to determine that the ball is touched by an opponent, without retaining it," Archer said. "The rules state that touching the ball means intentionally playing it with any part of the person - a ricochet or rebound does not count as a touch. "The referee makes a live decision to penalise the Bulldogs, which cannot be reviewed by the video referee.Upon review of the match, it was determined that Nightingale, by contesting for the ball, is deemed to be playing at the ball. "However, the referee did not have a clear view of the contact with Nightingale, and therefore could not rule definitely that Nightingale had intentionally played at the football.

"Our match officials are charged to make decisions in real time and I always encourage them to back their judgment. I'll continue to encourage them to do it over the remainder of the finals series." Archer also had no concerns with Klemmer being allowed to stop Ah Mau from attempting to stop Canterbury five-eighth Josh Reynolds kicking the winning field goal in the fourth minute of extra time. Angry St George Illawarra fans posted video and photos of the incident on social media after the match and contacted radio stations on Sunday claiming their team should have received a penalty for the incident, in which Klemmer played the ball and then grabbed hold of Ah Mau. Pritchard also appeared to block the Dragons prop after he broke free of Klemmer's grip, but Archer said referees had to make a judgment call under difficult circumstances. "The referees need to judge whether a player deliberately impedes another player and whether that action prevents the defender from being involved in the play," Archer said.

"I'm comfortable with the decision to play on in the circumstances of this particular play." The fallout from the match is set to continue on Monday when the NRL match review committee decides whether to charge Pritchard and Kasiano over an incident late in the match, in which Widdop was kneed in the back as he dived on a charged down field goal attempt. The pair were placed on report and St George Illawarra captain Ben Creagh later described the tackle as not "in the spirit of the game". If Pritchard is charged he may have played his last match in the NRL as the Hull FC-bound second rower has loading and carryover points from a previous judiciary charge. The committee is also expected to look at a tackle by Greg Eastwood that left Marshall with an ankle injury that Dragons coach Paul McGregor said was likely to require surgery and allegations that Graham may have been bitten but no action is expected over either incident.