NRL head of football Graham Annesley only last week warned of possible fines for clubs whose trainers had incorrectly signalled for a time-out without checking if a player had suffered a serious injury. Whitehead's gash to the knee was nasty but not one that kept him out of the game. Elliott Whitehead suffered a cut to his knee during the win over the Storm - the Raiders trainer calling for a stop to play to deal with the bleeding knee. Credit:AAP Smith was caught on the TV coverage telling pocket referee Chris Sutton: "My kids have bigger scratches than that on their knees. Fair dinkum, we’re stopping a rugby league game?'' Munster stuck up for his skipper and said he could not recall the last time a game had been stopped because of a "gash".

Loading "I feel like there has been a lot of stoppage in the play when we get a lot of momentum," Munster said on Tuesday. "I dare say it is a tactic and it's probably smart from other teams who have done it. We can't do much about it. The referees have to pick it up and go from there. But it is pretty frustrating. "I feel like it's happened the past four or five weeks. "I know Elliott Whitehead's was not ideal and the gash might have been deep, but at the same time I've never seen a referee stop play for a gash, unless it's on your head or you're bleeding down your jersey. It was on his knee. "It's a fast game, the refs have to make a decision on the spot, and that was the decision they made.

"I'm not having a go at that, but I feel like at times when we are getting momentum, teams are obviously seeing that and falling over at the drop of a hat." Loading Munster said there was no issues with stopping the game for Canberra winger Nick Cotric who copped an awful knock to the face. Whitehead hit back at Smith on social media when he showed footage of his knee being drained with the caption "just a scratch". There is already plenty of hostility between the Storm and Canberra after Smith was accused of a "wingnut" tackle where he was alleged to have pulled at the ears of Bailey Simonsson last month.

Stopping play was designed to treat players for head knocks, serious injuries or players who risk being caught in the middle of play. Manly coach Des Hasler raised the point after a win last month about players and trainers calling for stoppages for minor incidents. Cameron Munster says the Storm are becoming targets for go-slow tactics. Credit:AAP "It stifles an attacking team, particularly down their end. You could use it to your advantage, couldn't you?" Hasler asked. Annesley said on Tuesday: "The referee can stop the game for anything he considers to be a serious injury, and of course they have to make that determination, and often they're stopping the game at the request of the trainer.