That Maxwell had such an abject lack of confidence in his own decision-making, that he couldn't make a clear decision when it was there to be made, neatly sums up the problem with our match-day officials. Yes, it's only round two. Yes, we are writing about referees. But, yes, it is growing sickness in the game that needs to be solved.

Referees ditched pink outfits this season to command more respect from players, coaches and fans. A novel idea: maybe start with some commonsense decision-making. Then you can wear whatever colour you want.

This isn't a bashing of the men in the middle. They have a thankless job, they are everyone's whipping boy. No football code cross-examines its referees as much as rugby league. And we won't go into all the gory details of what's wrong with the ruck, the video referee, and an independent analysis of what the linesmen actually do.

We won't even start on how the video referee can in one match tip the man in the middle before a scrum is packed that a hand forced a ball loose, so it should be a penalty instead of a scrum - but they won't do it in the next. What is certain is the referee is no longer focusing on the job he's supposed to do - and that's controlling the game.

On Saturday night in Townsville, Cowboys playmaker Johnathan Thurston played with a target on his back, head, eyebrow, ribs. He was constantly targeted by the Knights, and enforcer Beau Scott in particular. They did so with impunity. The fallout is that the Cowboys players are promising retribution the next time they take the field, and prominent figures like Andrew Johns are claiming the attack on playmakers is a major issue for the game. Storm fullback Billy Slater told The Sunday Footy Show that it was the biggest issue for the game. Strong words.