Manu'a, a Diamonds hopeful and the Giants' vice-captain, was firstly warned for rough play and then removed during the third quarter for two minutes as is the process for a second offence.

A collision with Giants wing attack Laura Scherian early in the final quarter was deemed by umpire Andrea Booth to be a third offence and she was sent off, leaving the Giants with six players for more than nine minutes of the match.

With only one defender left in the goal circle, their seven-point lead dwindled before a 58-57 loss.

Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald, who has led various teams to five premierships, was seething on the sidelines, saying to the referee "it was not even her fault".

Former Australian stars-turned-commentators Liz Ellis and Catherine Cox criticised the umpires' interpretation of "rough play" saying that neither act really warranted such a penalty.

"The first one was definitely a good contest and the history was that there was the warning before, so that was what happened there," Cox said.

"The second one looked like clean ball, but I think by that stage one of the umpire's minds might have been swayed just a little bit by what had just taken place."

Manu'a won't face any further sanctions, but the Giants will seek clarification over the send-off and if the 23-year-old needed to adjust her game.

Despite the blow to their season, with the team left in sixth spot, Fitzgerald didn't expect any changes to the result.

"I've been around long enough to know that no-one will take any further action, the score is the score and that's where it stands," Fitzgerald said.

"We played for almost 10 minutes with six players on the court and I'm really proud of the discipline they showed to try and keep that game under control for that length of time."

Fitzgerald, who is the most capped coach in the history of the national netball competition, said she'd never seen a send-off and believed the offence needed to be something "completely out of the box" to warrant it.

Australian Associated Press