Laurie Daley has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at the referees following NSW’s heartbreaking 18-16 State of Origin II loss.

The Blues coach was careful with his words so as not to incur a fine for publicly criticising the whistleblowers however he made several pointed comments about their performance.

He implied they had changed interpretations from the series opener and had erred in green-lighting Valentine Holmes’ controversial opening try.

“I get in trouble if I comment on referees don’t I?” Daley quipped when he was quizzed on the performance of referees Matt Cecchin and Gerard Sutton.

Daley used his pre-game press conference to place pressure on the referees and warned them not to let Queensland get away with wrestling tactics after they oversaw a fast, free flowing game in Brisbane three weeks ago.

When he was asked if game two had been officiated differently Daley said: “I think everyone in the room can make their own assumptions.”

After the referees blew just six penalties during Origin I, Daley was frustrated after his side lost the penalty count 6-4 at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night.

Daley admitted his side hadn’t adapted to the way the referees interpreted the match.

“We probably got frustrated but again that’s something we have to contend with and we’ve got to make sure we abide by the rules that are in play on the day,” Daley said.

“We weren’t good enough today.”

Maroons debutant winger Holmes opened the scoring in the ninth minute when he tip-toed down the sideline and planted the ball in the corner.

The decision was sent up to the video referee who ruled there was insufficient evidence to overturn the live decision of try, despite some footage appearing to show his foot on the white stripe.

“Yeah, I don’t know. Might say a few things later,” Daley said.

Queensland coach Kevin Walters said the referees did a “tremendous job” and allowed the game to flow.

However even he conceded Holmes’ four-pointer was questionable.

“My left eye is a little bit blind,” he said.

“I thought he was okay. You need some luck sometimes. I thought he was in. Some say he might have been out.

“That finish on the try was very special.”