The NRL have vowed to throw their support behind under-fire referee Ben Cummins, with the furore which erupted after Sunday’s grand final blunder raging long into Monday.

The official at the centre of the six-again call has been criticised by everyone from Russell Crowe to Wally Lewis and Johnathan Thurston after Sydney Roosters scraped home 14-8.

Cummins himself admitted just last week he at times doesn’t want to go out in public after “a dusty game” to avoid copping it from unhappy fans.

And as ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie said on Monday, Cummins wouldn’t have been feeling good following the grand final.

“Sometimes things happen that are no ones fault,” Beattie said.

“Nobody is saying Ben went out there to make a bad decision. Of course he didn’t.

“We will support him because at the end of the day if people keep vilifying referees no one will want to do this job.

“You’ve just got to make sure you do (support them) and that they keep getting these decisions right.”

Beattie mirrored the view of NRL head of football Graham Annesley who insisted the correct call was made even if the process was wrong.

Regardless, it can’t be denied that it came at a crucial time, with possession awarded to the Roosters after Jack Wighton saw six-again signalled before it was reversed.

“Being a referee, there is nothing more difficult in rugby league,” Beattie said.

“I can understand why a lot of Raiders fans were unhappy with what happened but the reality was a mistake was made and it was corrected.

“When you’ve got a linesman and the assistant referee giving advice, you can’t ignore it.

“He’s not going to feel terribly good today, of course he’s not. There is controversy around … (but) we’ve got to be sensitive about these things. These people are not robots, they are people.”

Cummins doesn’t use social media and is usually able to avoid seeing criticism.

But the blowback from Sunday’s decision – with scores locked 8-8 in the set before the Roosters scored their match-winning 73rd minute try – would have been hard to miss.

“It’s not easy but you do get used to (abuse),” he said last week after being appointed to the decider.

“It’s definitely not right and I found that the hardest part to deal with as I came through as a younger referee with that sort of stuff.

“If people want to talk footy (in public) I enjoy doing that.

“If you’ve had a dusty game sometimes you don’t want to go out in public because you know people will say things.”

Meanwhile Canberra legend and Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga offered Cummins some salvation on Monday.

Meninga, who blew the horn to begin the Raiders’ Viking Clap before the grand final, reiterated Canberra coach Ricky Stuart’s stance not to publicly criticise officials over the call.

“That’s footy. Things go against you,” Meninga said.

‘And as Ricky said you’ve got to find solutions.

“The Rooster took their opportunities and the Raiders didn’t.”