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The NRL has denied telling State of Origin referees to ease up on penalties at halftime in Wednesday's decider in Sydney and praised officiating in the series.

The dramatic reduction in penalties in the second half of Wednesday's State of Origin decider wasn't due to the NRL issuing directions to referees at halftime.

Referees Gerard Sutton and Ashley Klein blew 12 penalties in the first half of NSW's dramatic game three victory at ANZ Stadium.

Ex-Origin coaches Paul Vautin and Phil Gould both criticised the frequent stoppages during the Nine Network's broadcast of the match.

In stark contrast there were just two penalties in the second 40 minutes with the Blues winning the penalty count 8-6.

NRL head of football Graham Annesley said the dramatic reduction in penalties was a consequence of the first-half crackdown and not due to officials telling referees to put their whistles away.

"It has to be placed in the context that this was an Origin decider," Annesley told AAP.

"Both teams were trying to establish their dominance.

"When that happens teams are going to push the rules to the limit, particularly in the play-the-ball and the 10 metres.

"If the referees just ignored that, the game degenerates into an arm wrestle for 80 minutes.

"I believe that the action that they took in the first half allowed the game to open up in the second half."

Annesley met with referees on Monday after a series of errors in round 16 which he said just wasn't "good enough".

He said four costly mistakes had led to tries, or robbed teams of crucial four-pointers, in last weekend's action.

Sutton was among those criticised for blunders in the clash between the Warriors and Penrith, including sending Jarome Luai to the sin-bin when he should not have been.

The criticism came just a week after Annesley described referees' efforts in round 15 as "sloppy".

Sutton and Klein were the referees for all three Origin matches and Annesley said he was pleased with the overall performance during the series.

"We were happy with the way the series was controlled," he said.

"Ultimately, the players determined the outcome, which is an important aspect for us."