Canterbury coach Des Hasler could become the first coach fined for breaking the NRL's newpolicy which prohibits coaches from commenting on referees after matches.

Hasler chose his words carefully, and while he didn't directly criticise their performance, he couldn't help but make reference to the officials after his side's 24-18 loss to the Penrith Panthers at Pepper Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Loose lips: Des Hasler's comments on referees may get him in hot water. Credit:Getty Images

"You know what you should do?" Hasler said in the post-match media conference.

"Get Tony Archer in here, Ben Cummins and his sidekick [referee Gavin Reynolds] and ask them what they thought about the game because they had a pretty big input into today. Maybe that should be part of it. It would be a better press conference, that's for sure."