'We had no idea': Tom Dearden, Todd Payten frustrated at set restart inconsistency as Cowboys lose again

Under-pressure Cowboys coach Todd Payten and captain Tom Dearden have expressed their frustration with the set restart calls after losing to the Tigers 44-16.

Payten had one relief from the game though with Heilum Luki only fined $1,000 for a grade one careless high tackle from the first half.

Luki tried to hit Alex Twal with brutal force but unfortunately had his body height all wrong.

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The penalty came on halfway before Kai Pearce-Paul crossed for his first try in a Tigers jersey.

That try made it 16-2 and the Cowboys never looked like getting back into the match with another big score conceded.

Pearce-Paul and Luke Laulilii finished with doubles for the Tigers.

The Cowboys were punished with seven ruck infringements with three of those coming inside the first two and a half minutes. There were also two inside-the-10-metre infringements against North Queensland.

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Cowboys forward Kai O'Donnell was also sin-binned for repeated infringements early in the game.

Payten smirked when asked post-match about the set restart calls.

"I like the way the game was reffed in Vegas. It was a bit different to this one today. It's bringing fatigue into the game and the game's fast enough," he said.

"... They're more willing to blow those ruck infringements. It's hard sometimes because you're not really sure what they're for. I would prefer if it's not a full-blown penalty then don't give the ruck infringement.

"They've opened it up and this is the game. We've just got to move forward and find a way to handle ourselves better."

With Dearden sitting next to him, the captain was asked how it felt as a player out there, and his answer suggested plenty of confusion.

"The most frustrating bit is when it happens, you don't know what it's for," he said.

"To start the game we had three or four back-to-back, but we had no idea. It's not like they're calling six again and telling us what it's for; we're just seeing the arm go up. Our job's to keep turning up but at the start of the game we had no clue what the six agains were for. I think we made 12 or 14 tackles in a row in the game and we had no idea what was going on."

Dearden confirmed when there was a break that referee Grant Atkins explained the calls were down to a "mix of everything" from ruck mistakes to being inside the 10.

"In play it's frustrating to not know what they're for and how to fix it up," he said.

Payten will need to fix that issue quick smart if he's to alleviate pressure on his job after two poor defensive performances.

The coach put the result down to their starts, similar to the loss in Las Vegas against the Knights.

"Today we started physically and then just snowballed very quickly," he said.

Meanwhile, for the Tigers, Api Koroisau was placed on report early in the game for a cannonball tackle. He was fined $1,000 for grade one dangerous contact.

The side also lost Taylan May in the 15th minute with a shoulder injury and Benji Marshall confirmed he'd have scans.

"He seemed OK, but it didn't feel good at the time," he said.