North Queensland coach Paul Green has taken a swipe at the NRL referees over a controversial Adam Reynolds try during the Cowboys’ 21-20 loss to South Sydney.

Reynolds was the hero for the Rabbitohs at Barlow Park in Cairns on Sunday, booting a 79th-minute field goal to break the Cowboys’ hearts.

However, it was the Bunnies No.7’s first-half try that divided opinion after the Cowboys argued the Souths halfback took advantage after Jake Granville was impeded by George Burgess.

Granville fell to the ground as he came into contact with lead runner Burgess, with Walker grubbering for himself through a gaping hole to even the scores at 6-6 after 15 minutes.

Green bit his tongue after he was last year slugged with a $10,000 fine for criticising the whistleblowers in his side’s loss to Melbourne.

“I’m not allowed to comment on refs’ decisions any more. I can’t afford it,” Green said.

Asked if he thought Granville was impeded, Green said: “Yeah, I did. He knocked him over.”

The try proved decisive as the Cowboys’ slumped to their 12th loss of the year to leave them second-last.

The play divided commentators, with some agreeing with bunker official Jared Maxwell’s decision to overturn the on-field no-try call because Granville had committed to tackling Burgess.

Nine Network commentator Phil Gould said it was a “brilliant” decision.

“Jake Granville goes in and tackles him. He tackles the bloke without the ball for a start,” Gould said.

Greg Alexander slammed the call on Fox Sports.

“Burgess ran straight into him, just took him out,” he said.