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Referees boss Tony Archer admits Sia Soliola should have been sent off for brutal hit on Billy Slater

NRL referees boss Tony Archer has admitted Canberra's Sia Soliola should have been sent off for a sickening hit on Billy Slater which knocked out the Melbourne superstar.

The Raiders forward's late swinging arm to Slater's head wasn't enough to convince referee Matt Cecchin to give Soliola his marching orders early in the second half of Saturday's clash at GIO Stadium.

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Should Soliola have been sent off?

A slipping Billy Slater was knocked unconscious after Canberra's Sia Soliola got it all wrong.

The high shot ended Slater's night, but the Storm rallied with Cameron Smith also going off injured, edging out the Raiders 20-14 in a gritty battle.

"It's important to note that Sia Soliola is on report and the matter will be addressed by the Match Review Committee," Archer said in a statement

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"But based on a review of the tackle, the incident did meet the indicators of a send off."

Melbourne immediately sent an angry missive to the NRL after the match, which is also set to keep Cameron Smith sidelined for weeks.

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The rugby league world was in uproar as Soliola was merely placed on report and penalised for the 49th-minute late challenge on  Slater, who was carried off on a medicab with concussion.

Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy tweeted: "For @storm members asking, I've already sent a text to @nrl powers to be informing them we'll be asking the obvious question this wk."

Competition leaders the Storm went into the match as overwhelming premiership favourites but while Slater will miss one match at most, a pectoral muscle injury has Australia captain Smith doubtful for the entire run to the finals.

As if to underline a glaring discrepancy in officiating in the NRL, the Storm's Cameron Munster finished the game in the sin bin for a professional foul while Soliola was able to set up a try minutes after his sickening hit on Slater.

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Social media reaction from those inside and outside the game ranged from calls for the resignation or referees boss Tony Archer to vows never to watch the game again and to the defence that Slater was falling as Soliola struck him.

"If it's not a sending-off, then I don't know what is a sending-off," Storm coach Craig Bellamy said. "For him to get knocked out like that, it's pretty severe. He's talking, but he's not feeling too good, so we'll just have to see how it goes throughout the week."

It was the first time since 2009  Smith had featured in less than 50 minutes of a match for Melbourne. But he was  optimistic about the injury, saying scans on Sunday would determine its severity.

"The decision was to come off because there's still a long way to go in the season," he said. "It wasn't worth the risk, to be honest."

Cameron Munster extended the Storm's lead to 14-6 with a penalty goal after the Slater hit but, without their superstar fullback and hooker, the Raiders sensed their chance.

Young gun Nick Cotric scored a try with less than 15 minutes remaining to reduce the deficit to four points.

But the Storm showed grit to stem the tide with Dale Finucane scoring his second try, diving on a grubber which trickled under the posts.

Munster was sent to the sin bin in the final minute and, moments later, Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer completed his own try-scoring double.

But it was too late to avoid another close loss. The defeat keeps Canberra two wins out of the top eight, but that could be extended to three on Sunday if St George Illawarra overcome Manly.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was furious with the refereeing after the match, calling for officials to be made accountable.

"Those poor bastards in there – my players – they're accountable every week," Stuart said. "They busted themselves tonight; that's was one of the best games they played all year tonight."

 AAP

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