Referees and the Bunker copped a tirade of criticism over the weekend after several contentious calls decided matches and ended seasons.

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan was fined $30,000 after blasting the refs after his side’s 15-14 loss to the Cowboys with Manly mentor Trent Barrett fined $20,000 for the same offence after the Sea Eagles fell 22-10 to Penrith.

“It’s a difficult one. It is pretty unfair on the coaches because their season is finished and they are in a pretty bad emotional state,” Bennett told AAP.

“Then they go to a press conference and are asked about the referees — it’s pretty hard not to say what you really think.

“I have a lot of empathy for them. It’s the last place you want to be.”

Bennett said the best solution would be to decommission the $2 million Bunker.

“I would scrap the bunker, I would do it tomorrow,” Bennett said. “Personally I didn’t want it to come in in the first place.

“I think we need less technology than more, I hope we go that way in the future.

“Todd is trying to give them protection because it (referee criticism) does trickle down (to the game’s grassroots).

“But I have always said the bunker will make mistakes — it’s human nature.

“The most popular sport in the world is soccer and the only technology is a ball going into the goal — they understand the ramifications if they have the technology and they don’t want it.”