Blanchfield was left frustrated by what he labelled inconsistent calls, with Lamelo Ball on the end of some particularly harsh decisions.

The 18-year-old star was called for a technical foul for a flop in the third quarter before he received his fifth foul late in the fourth, the American fouling out with 43 seconds to play.

Ball's technical was followed by a flop called against Casper Ware, a ruling many viewed as a makeup call.

For Blanchfield, the players require consistency to be able to adjust their game to the refereeing.

Read more: University of Wollongong students ready to take on the world

"As players and coaches, all we can ever ask for is consistency," Blanchfield said.

"When it's so up and down, it's hard to make adjustments on the fly. For me personally, I feel like it's reffed differently at the two different ends, so all we can ask for is consistency.

"If they're at least on the same page, we can make adjustments on the fly. Sometimes that's hard to do in this league.

"We're being pros, we're just asking them to be pros as well."

A frustrated Hawks coach Matt Flinn opted to wait until he viewed the replay before commenting on the standard of refereeing.

While you're with us the Illawarra Mercury is offering sport readers 20% off an annual digital subscription. Sign up to stay up to date with all the local sports you love for only $3.00 a week. Terms and conditions apply.