Cougars second-rower Dion Harris will attract scrutiny from the match review committee in the wake of the game after being sent from the field, though any number of players could also have been dispatched following the brawl that erupted on half-time.

Schodel was reserved on referee Marcus Jennett's decision post-match.

"It was disappointing," Schodel said.

"We'll have to have a look at the video but the guys have got to look after each other in those situations.

"I could understand if one bloke from each side got sent off from the altercation but until I see the video I can't comment too much."

Schodel labelled his side's second-half performance, in which they conceded five tries, as "embarrassing".

"We came here to try and get a bit of pride but I don't think we got that tonight," Schodel said.

"They [Wests] are a good side, they are the benchmark but we made them look good.

"We showed what we can do in patches but it's an 80-minute game of football.

"That's what these guys have got to realise.

"I think a lot of our guys hadn't played in this competition before and thought it might be a bit easy, but it's a tough comp.

"If you keep giving the ball back to a side like that you're always going to get flogged."