FORMER Orange resident and NRL judiciary member Darren Britt yesterday refused to weigh into the controversy surrounding comments made by Melbourne Storm officials on Friday night.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy and chief executive Brian Waldron questioned the judiciary’s decision to suspend captain Cameron Smith for two weeks, which subsequently ruled him out of their preliminary final victory over Cronulla and Sunday’s grand final against Manly.

They claimed intense media scrutiny influenced the judiciary hearing and that Smith had been made a scapegoat over concerns surrounding grapple tackles.

The comments, made in the post-match media conference after their 28-0 win over the Sharks, called the integrity of the judiciary into question.

But Britt yesterday declined the opportunity to rebuke the claims.

The former Bulldogs great, who was in Orange on Friday night for the Orange CYMS presentation, was one of three judiciary members, along with Darrell Williams and Royce Ayliffe, who heard the Smith case.

Over the weekend, Williams spoke out about the claims of the Storm duo and indicated the judiciary could take legal action over the comments, which earned the Storm a $50,000 fine from the NRL.