A new statewide judiciary has been created to deal with issues of dissent and abuse towards officials in rugby league competitions across the state.
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The move comes after Peter McDonald Premiership referees announced last week they were going on strike, having "grown tired of accepting abuse as the norm".
While no resolution has yet been reached between the NSW Rugby League and the Group 11 and Group 10 referees regarding the strike, action has been taken to ensure "support for referees".
"In a major initiative to support referees, NSWRL has today announced the creation of a judiciary committee to deal specifically with issues of referee dissent and abuse across community competitions," a NSW Rugby League spokesperson told ACM.
"Any such issue arising from any community competition in NSW will be referred directly to this judiciary committee, irrespective of where the incident occurs.
"The judiciary committee will consist of a nominee of NSWRL, a nominee of the NSWRL Referees Association and an independent Chair.
"The creation of the committee will ensure consistency of judiciary outcomes across the state and support for referees."
A community competition is any outside of the major Sydney leagues and representative competitions.
The spokesperson also said the NSWRL "continues to work constructively with referees from Group 10 and Group 11 in the Peter McDonald Premiership (PMP) to resolve their concerns".
No agreement has yet been reached between the two bodies and the Peter McDonald Premiership board.
The strike announcement came last Thursday, June 6, following an investigation into a reserve grade game between Wellington and Forbes earlier this season which was abandoned at half-time.
Referee Phil Lindley didn't return for the second half, citing comments directed towards him from both sets of players.
Following the investigation, no major punishments were handed down outside of concerning act notices, and the referees stated they were "let down terribly" after what they considered "inadequate and weak" penalties.
The statement from the referees was signed off by Bryce Hotham and Stu Duff, the presidents of the Group 10 and Group 11 referee associations respectively.
NSWRL accused the referees of "holding the game to ransom" and stated "there is an appropriate way to raise issues of concern, but it is not by strike action, it is by way of respectful engagement".
Referees from outside the western area travelled to officiate the annual long weekend matches between Parkes and Forbes on Sunday, June 9.
A regular six matches are scheduled to be played this coming weekend.
"The decision by them (referees) to withdraw their services from all grades of the PMP was done without the support of the NSW Rugby League Referees Association," the NSWRL spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"The NSWRL is committed to ensuring all competitions are able to proceed as planned."
NSWRL accuses referees on strike of 'holding the game to ransom'
The NSWRL has confirmed Peter McDonald Premiership games will go ahead but has accused the region's referees who have gone on strike of "holding the game to ransom".
The Group 11 and Group 10 referees associations issued a joint statement on the morning of Thursday, June 6, stating they had "withdrawn their services from all grades" of the Peter McDonald Premiership for the foreseeable future.
The officials said they were "let down terribly" after what they consider "inadequate and weak" penalties handed down following an abandoned reserve grade game between Wellington and Forbes on Sunday, May 19.
The game at Kennard Park was called off at half-time following alleged continual dissent directed towards referee Phil Lindley from both sets of players.
A NSWRL investigation handed down no punishments outside of "concerning act notices". The referees' associations said "to say we found the penalties inadequate and weak is an understatement" and officials have "grown tired of accepting abuse as the norm".
"At a time when our numbers are at their lowest and we require the full support of the Peter McDonald Premiership board and the NSWRL alike we have been let down terribly," the statement read.
"We've had enough."
After being contacted by ACM, the NSW Rugby League provided a firmly-worded statement on Thursday afternoon.
"The NSWRL is very disappointed that a group of referees would think it appropriate to hold the game in western NSW to ransom over issues that have been the subject of ongoing discussions and moving towards a respectful resolution for some time," the spokesperson said.
"There is an appropriate way to raise issues of concern, but it is not by strike action, it is by way of respectful engagement.
"NSWRL is, and has always been, happy to engage in respectful discussion about the issue but not against the background of strike action.
"NSWRL has arranged for games to be covered and urges the group to take a sensible to approach to resolving the matter and engage in respectful communication."
Parkes and Forbes are due to meet in the annual long weekend fixture at Pioneer Oval on Sunday, June 9.
An investigation was launched into the abandoned Wellington-Forbes reserve grade fixture and ACM obtained a copy of an email NSWRL zone manager for Western and South Western, David Skinner, sent to PMP board members, referees associations and NSWRL officials at its conclusion.
"The central review committee, in context with the statewide system, reviewed the three officials' reports and video evidence. Based on the information provided, they could not find any action/penalty against either players involved nor the clubs involved," the email from Skinner read.
Concerning act notices were handed down to Wellington's captain and both clubs.
"So that it is on record that their behaviour is not, and has not been, of the standard accepted in the Peter McDonald Premiership and that the PMP executive has the right to take action in the form of fines, loss of competition points and suspension from the competition should there be any code of conduct breaches this season," Skinner's email continued.
Skinner's email went on to state NSWRL was aware there was a shortage of experienced referees in the PMP, lack of adequate ground control, low quality game review resources, poor player respect for officials, and failures in club communication and actions would be taken to correct those.
As well as saying they felt "let down terribly" by the investigation, the Group 11 and Group 10 referees highlighted four areas of concern which need to be rectified before they are to return to the field of play.
They are as follows:
- We require a clear understanding of why a referee's report following a serious incident, directly impacting that official and other officials, was not used as binding evidence during an investigation.
- We are looking for more transparency during the decision-making process, for all incidents. Why were the submissions from clubs given more weight than those submitted by the referees directly impacted by the incident?
- All games, across all grades, must be videoed and have audio on for the entire game, as well as post-game when referees are leaving the ground. This is in accordance with an email sent out by regional area manager Dave Skinner.
- Ground managers need to be more visible and do a better job at supporting officials. This year we have seen ground managers, wearing marked vests, drinking alcohol. That's simply not good enough.
"We run out each weekend, across multiple grades, venues and often both days because, like players, coaches and supporters, we too love the game," the referees' statement read.
"However, we as a group have grown tired of accepting abuse as the norm. If we don't act now there's a very real chance the referees we do have left will simply walk away from the game."
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
