NRL referees' boss Robert Finch last night said that anyone who thought the obstruction rule could be policed in such a manner as to avoid controversy was living in a dreamworld.

"The thing about a rule like this is that there is no black and white with it," Finch said yesterday. "It's been the same since 1908. Sometimes it's obvious to everyone what has happened - but at other times it's a matter of opinion.

"The referee is the one who has to make a decision and he shouldn't be criticised for going ahead and doing that. It's easy for someone to sit at home and watch half-a-dozen replays and maybe come up with a different opinion."

Finch was reacting to controversy over some decisions made according to the obstruction rule this season, which reached a head during round six at the weekend.

Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes and prop Willie Mason accused Parramatta five-eighth Brett Finch of taking a dive after Mason, without the ball, ran into him along the way to a would-be try by Bulldogs second-rower Andrew Ryan in Sunday's game.

Referee Sean Hampstead referred it to video ref Tim Mander for a decision and he ruled no try and a penalty to the Eels.

In a separate incident, Titans coach John Cartwright and football manager Scott Sattler approached video referee Steve Nash to question a decision during Sunday afternoon's game against Manly. They believed a try awarded to the Sea Eagles should have been disallowed under the obstruction rule.

There was no suggestion either Cartwright or Sattler had harassed Nash, but it is against the rules for them to even approach the video referee. Consequently, the NRL yesterday issued the club with a breach notice, proposing a $5000 fine.

Titans chief executive Michael Searle said the club was resigned to paying the penalty. "As soon as you address a video ref, it's a breach - so there's no use in us fighting that," Searle said.

The league yesterday issued a media release clarifying various elements of the obstruction rule, which was tinkered with for this season after a meeting of referees and club coaches and captains.

Finch said it was unfair to criticise referees when all they were doing was policing the rules and making judgement calls. He said several decisions that were questionable had mostly been made by video referees and that he had addressed that.

Former respected referee Bill Harrigan, who is Finch's assistant, said the obstruction rule was a difficult one for the whistle-blowers and that he was certain it would be reviewed at the end of the season.

"There is a hell of a lot for the referee to consider," Harrigan said. "It's like the stealing rule - there's never going to be a 100 per cent way of dealing with it. The referees are working as hard as they can on it. They're not spooked by it, but it's made their job harder."

Meanwhile, AAP reports Manly say they will support Anthony Watmough after his former girlfriend yesterday accused the second-rower in court of attacking her with coins and a chair and also punching her during several violent outbursts.

Watmough faced Manly Local Court, where his former girlfriend of seven years, Gillian Rixon, is seeking an apprehended violence order.

Rixon, who has a young son with the 23-year-old Sea Eagles star, told the court he violently attacked her several times, including on New Year's Eve in 2004, when he allegedly threw coins at her.

"There was an indent in the wall - one of them hit my head and bruised it - he then threw a chair at me and it hurt me," she told the court.

Watmough says he will fight the allegations, which his lawyers have called a "pack of lies". The hearing will continue in June, when Watmough intends to call three witnesses.

Manly chief executive Grant Mayer said the club would support Watmough.

"This is a domestic violence issue. The club is obviously supporting Anthony through that," Mayer said.