The NSWRL referees program has received one of the highest forms of recognition in Rugby League by having three of its members appointed to officiate on NRL Grand Final Day this Sunday (6 October).
Kieren Irons, who refereed last Sunday’s Grand Final in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup, with the Newtown Jets getting home 28-22 over the North Sydney Bears, will run the sideline for the NRL State Championship.
The NRL State Championship is a match between the respective premiers from the NSWRL and QRL Major Competitions, with the Jets to take on Norths Devils this year.
The standby official for the NRL State Championship will be fellow NSWRL Major Competitions referee Dillan Wells.
For the NRLW Grand Final between the Sydney Roosters and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Karra-Lee Nolan will be a touch judge alongside QRL referee Rochelle Tamarua.
NSWRL Referees High Performance Manager Stuart Raper said the three appointments vindicated the level of training and expertise among the Major Competitions squad.
“It shows there is a genuine pathway between the NSWRL competitions up into the State Championship, the NRLW and NRL,” Raper said.
“A lot of our officials have been given good opportunities this year underlining that point.”
Six NSWRL match officials have made their NRL debuts in the past two seasons – Irons, Ben Teague, and Cameron Paddy in 2022; Damian Brady in 2023; and Daniel Luttringer and Clayton Wills in 2024.
“Regarding today’s announcement by the NRL it tops off a successful year for Kieren, who is already one of the really good leaders in our group,” Raper said.
“And as for Karra-Lee she’s been an ever-present part of the NRLW season, which is one of the reasons she couldn’t do any of our Major Comps finals this year.
“She’s been in the middle for our games in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup earlier this season before the 2024 NRLW competition got underway.
“It’s very exciting for her to be running the sideline for the NRLW Grand Final, which is also the curtain-raiser game to the NRL Grand Final.
“It brings a lot of eyes onto that women’s game and that’s a just reward for one of our rising officials,” he said.
“Dillan is another one of our up-and-comers and has been running the sideline a lot in the NRLW this season. Again he didn’t feature so much in our finals weeks because we let him focus on the NRLW because it was the first time he’d experienced that.
“And it’s a major step for him and others from NSWRL as we don’t have the video referee or captains’ challenges in our Major Comps games and you need to understand and communicate those with the central referees.”
