Country Rugby League Referees' Association

Next Saturday 5th May sees the Grand Finals of the NSWRL Junior Representative Series at St Mary's with deciders to be played in the Harold Matthews and SG Ball Competitions. Parramatta will meet Newcastle in the Harold Matthews while Balmain come up against Canberra in the SG Ball. It will also be a big day for Country Referees as four of its finest will be officiating on the day.
Chris Treneman of Group 7 Referees will control the Harold Matthews while Warrick Bowden, formerly a Group 9 referee before joining Parramatta Referees, will be in the middle for the SG Ball. Amie Gibson of Illawarra Referees will be one of the touch judges running with Warrick and Newcastle's Drew Oultram will be the stand-by referee for both matches.
All in the CRLRA pass on their heartiest congratulations to each of these very talented referees.

(Photo shows (clockwise from top left Chris Treneman, Warrick Bowden, Drew Oultram and Amie Gibson.)

The 2012 CRL Championships kicked off in Mittagong on the night of Friday 27 April with the first fixture featuring Group 6 up against Group 16. With the guys from the Far South Coast not having commenced their season it was their first real hit-out and the scoreline showed with the Group 6 team  prevailing by 82 points to nil. CRLRA Development Officer, Pat Walsh, was in attendance and was pleased with the performance of the on-field officials led by Referee, William Drury, who were all thankful for their great early season fitness levels to keep up with the end-to-end play that occurred during the match.

(Photo shows Luke Yates (Interchange - Gp 6), Sam McDonald (Touch Judge - Gp 6),  William Drury (Referee - Gp 7), Chris Hodge (Touch Judge - Gp 6). and Chris Wine (Interchange - Gp 6).

The annual One Community Awards is an opportunity for the game’s unsung heroes such as volunteer coaches, community workers, referees and development officers to rub shoulders with NRL stars and receive recognition for their tireless work.
Once again this year the Awards will be held in Grand Final Week at the Sydney Town Hall on Monday 24th September 2012. So if you know a member from your Association who you think is deserved of this prestigious award then refer to the details in the attached flyer to see how you can nominate him or her.
Nominations close on Friday 27th July 2012.

Group 7 Referees' Association has signed a major sponsorship deal with the Bendigo Bank. The Association last week confirmed it had signed a three-year major sponsorship deal. At the same time it has retained long-term sponsors, Cleary Bros, who have been supporting the association for almost 30 years. Turf Co have also re-signed as a sponsor and their logo will appear on the referees' shorts this season.
Referees’ Association president William Drury last week presented a framed referees' jersey to manager of the Milton and Districts Community Bank (Bendigo Bank), Matt Adams. Regional manager Jim Crawford was also on hand for the presentation. The framed jersey will hang in the bank's Milton branch. Similar presentations will be made to the branches in Sussex Inlet, Sanctuary Point, Nowra, Shellharbour and Oak Flats.
Mr Drury said the referees were "very excited" to have Bendigo Bank on board as a joint major sponsor alongside long-standing sponsors Cleary Bros. He said Bendigo Bank's involvement would allow the association to continue with the vital recruitment and development of junior referees within the Group 7 area. Mr Drury said long-term sponsorship was also important in terms of providing equipment and gear to assist in the coaching and mentoring of referees. Group 7 extends from Batemans Bay in the south to Albion Park in the north. Mr Drury said all 100 referees would be provided with newly-sponsored jerseys and polo shirts. He said the shirts would be on display at 110 games per weekend - junior as well as senior - for the duration of the season.

For more details contact: William Drury 0438 429 938

The 2012 "Tony Young Shield" Laws Challenge has been taken out by the Group 10 Referees' Association. In its second year, the Challenge forms part of the Annual CRLRA Seminar conducted at Wollongong which this attracted 115 of NSW Country's referees and referee coaches. The inaugural Challenge held last year was won by Group 2 Referees' Association who were unable to hold off the Group 10 success. All CRLRA Affiliated Associations participated and the Shield was presented by CRLRA Patron and esteemed Life Member, Tony Young, after whom the Shield is named.
Congratulations to the Group 10 Referees on their success and better luck next year to the other Associations. Sincere thanks also to the Development Officers who put the quiz together along with Life Member, Neville Norris, who provided questions to be used.

(Pictures show TOP - Mark Edwards holding the shield surrounded by his successful team mates and BOTTOM - Tony Young presenting the shield to Mark Edwards.)

Have you ever wanted to know why the Country Rugby League Referees' Association was first set up or when it was done and who was involved? Also, it is interesting to see who was on the first Executive. Well, the minutes of that very first meeting held in Sydney on 13 November 1938 will answer those questions. Click here to download a copy.

The Australian Rugby League Referees Association (ARLRA) is inviting Affiliated Referees Associations to nominate suitably qualified members to be considered for the awarding of Life Membership of the ARLRA. Those nominated must have held Life Membership of the nominating Association for a minimum of twenty (20) years and have made significant ongoing contributions to their Association or the area of Rugby League Refereeing. Full details can be obtained by Clicking here and nominations must be received by the CEO of the ARLRA no later than 31 December 2011.

The BHP Billiton Mt Arthur Coal Hunter Valley Group 21 Rugby League held their Annual Dinner after last Sunday’s grand final at Scone. During the presentations on the night Rod Bowd, well known referee in Group 21 and in rugby league circles was presented with a Country Rugby League Merit Award. This award is for untiring service, involvement and support in the development and well being of the Country Rugby Football League of NSW. This is one of the highest awards that are given by Country Rugby League. There has been only 108 Merit Award that have been presented to recipients in country NSW. Jesse Dial and Neil Barry are two people that have previously been awarded this honour.

Rod has been involved in rugby league in various capacities for the past 35 years. Most of that time has been as a referee in junior and senior league, but over the years he has been a player, Association secretary for 16 years, Scone Junior League President for 2 years, delegate to Group 21 senior and junior league committees, Group 21 Management Committee, Group 21 Development Panel member, Northern Division delegate, Central Hunter Power delegate, Country Rugby League delegate and Country Rugby League Referees’ Association delegate.

Rod has attended all junior league grounds this year assessing new referees and offering guidance on how to improve their performance to make them a better referee as well as still being an active referee in senior league. He has been a first grade referee for many years and received his level 3 referee certificate in 2007.

During the year Group 21 Referees have represented their local Association at higher levels of Rugby League. Matt Edwards had been appointed to a CRL first grade match that was played at Scone and the Country NSW v Country Qld match at Uralla. Liam Parker and Michael Hedges were appointed to 15/16s CRL junior league country champions that were played at Forster and came away with refereeing the finals at that venue. Joey Butler and Roxley Duggan were also appointed to the 13/14s CRL country championships at Inverell where their performances were highly rated. Young referee Joey Butler refereed at the NSW All Schools carnival held in Sydney in early August and received the final of the Open Primary B game, a touch line on the Tuesday in the 13s final and a touch line in the 12s elite schools final on the Wednesday.

Last Sunday was a first for Group 21 referees when the youngest group of match officials controlled the first grade match between Singleton and Scone, Matt Edwards was the referee while Michael Hedges and Liam Parker were the touch judges.

(Photo shows Tony Goldman (Group 21 Treasurer) Jane Walmsley (Group 21 Secretary) presenting Rod Bowd with his CRL Merit Award.)

The CRLRA has Referee Performance Report Books available at $16 each including postage. These have proved extremely popular. Orders may be placed to William Drury, PO BOX 301, MILTON NSW 2538 via fax on (02) 4455 2255 or by email at print@ulladullaprinting.com.au Cheques should be made payable to CRLRA.

The Easter school holidays provided the perfect opportunity for 6 development squad referees and 6 development officers from the CRLRA to attend the NRL referees weekly activities. The 6 referees were selected from the Development squads; they were Corbin Kelly, Jake Whitehouse, Casey Law, Lachlan Wild, Jake White and Zac Wilson. The 6 Development Officers were Tony Hardy, Pat Walsh, Steve Toms, Wayne Wilson, Neville Norris and Kevin Petty.

The week started by attending a game at the original home of Rugby League, SCG. We watched the game between the Dragons and Bulldogs. On Monday morning we were welcomed by the head coach of the NRL referees Bill Harrigan and from that point on were made part of the team. All the boys trained, watched videos, went into debriefs, all activates that the NRL referees did our boys did as well. The Development Officers participated in all activities with the coaches and assessors.

At training sessions the boys took part in all the drills and on Thursday morning after the NRL referees had completed their training run before heading back to the office Bill stayed behind to give the young refs a few more drills to work on to help improve their game. It was a big thrill for the boys being able to have a one on one with the head coach. Russel Smith and Stuart Raper also gave the boys a lot of helpful hints throughout the week to assist the boys.

On Tuesday night Matt Cecchin, Ashley Klein and Gavin Reynolds took the boys to the movies, giving them an opportunity to talk to them in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Wednesday, a meeting was held between the Referees, Development Officers with the President and Secretary of the CRLRA to discuss a number of issues including the annual seminar, with all present having some very good input into how we can attract more active referees to this annual event. This was the first time that such a meeting has taken place since the development squads was introduced.

A very big thank you to the CRLRA executive for committing the finances for this week, Bill Harrigan and Stuart Raper and all the NRL Referees and staff for opening their doors and allowing the young referees to get an insight in what is required to becoming one of the top referees in this country and the Development Officers for giving up their time to bring these young referees in and for their input into the week and finally to the development squad members for their outstanding effort and participating in all activities. Seeing the enjoyment and hearing the positive feedback from them made organising this week all worthwhile.

One hopes that such an event can continue in some form in the coming years and in Bill’s word “hope to see some of these fine young gentlemen that attended sitting in the seats of the NRL referees in years to come”.

Tony Hardy - CRLRA Development Officer

Mr Bert Lowrie, the Operations Manager of the Country Rugby League has issued the following amendment to Policy No 17 (Player Equipment & Apparel) of the CRL Operation Manual to read as follows:-

In a match environment, compression garments may only be worn on the following provisions:

• Compression Garments  may not extend past the elbow or knee of the player, neck/collar or the playing sock;
• Compression garments may only be black or skin tone in colour;
• External branding, meaning logos or insignias, may be carried on the compression garments as follows: 
  • Location:                               base of shorts only;
  • Placement on shorts:         base of right hand side when worn;
• No visible adhesive tape, patch or any other material covering up the manufacturer’s logo should be visible; 
• Stitching devices may be shown and not required to be blacked out.

This policy has been distributed to all respective Leagues and Clubs.

The CRLRA Executive reinforces that this Policy applies to all Leagues playing under the banner of the CRL. This includes Newcastle, Central Coast and Illawarra. This Policy should be followed this coming weekend, 2^nd and 3^rd April.

The members of Group 2 RA are the 2011 winners of the inaugural "Tony Young Shield" awarded to the Association with the best results in the Laws Exam conducted at the Annual CRLRA Workshop. The Group 2 team of five referees under the astute leadership of Ken Smith were judged the best Laws association based on the results of the exam. Group 3 RA came in a close second. Former NRL official and current Group 6 RA Executive member, Alan Foster, achieved a perfect score and will henceforth be known as "Nadia" (after the famous Romanian gymnast who was the first to score a perfect 10 in Olympics competition).

Congratulations to Ken and his team but rest assured that after seeing the impressive shield that has been donated by Tony Young there will be a fair bit of pressure on them next year to retain it.

Congratulations also to Tony Young for coming up with this fantastic initiative to make the Laws section of the Annual Workshop more interesting. Tony proudly displays his shield in the photo above as he hands it over to CRLRA Vice-President, Kevin Forde.

CRLRA Chairman, Nick Best, has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the 2011 Australia Day Honours List for "Service as a referee and as a rugby league administrator". Nick was an active referee in the South Coast/Group 7 area for 26 years as well as the President of the CRLRA since 1981. All in the rugby league refereeing fraternity congratulate Nick on this prestigious award. Nick said that the medal was recognition for family, friends and colleagues and meant a lot to him. He was in such shock when he received the letter advising him of his award that he had to lie down as he thought that he was going to suffer a heart attack.

Following a submission by the National Refereeing Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) Sub-Committee to the ARLD Council at its meeting of Thursday 2 December 2010, it was resolved that I write to all State and Territory Leagues to clarify that the 40/20 Law IS to be played in all Mod League Under 12 Competitions.

There had been some confusion about whether the rule applied in Junior competitions.

Mod League Law 19 (Kicking) states:

"...Kicking in general play is allowed - APART from -
(a) "bombs" or "high up and unders"
(b) attempts to score a drop/field goal...

"'Chip' punts, grubber kicks and kicks for touch (subject to Law 14) are permissible.".

Brad Levy
ARLD