An opportunity to learn from two full-time NRL referees has been welcomed with open arms by members of the Brisbane Rugby League Referees’ Association.
Gavin Badger and Grant Atkins spent last Thursday night with the Brisbane referees, much to the delight of association president Marc Sauvage.
“Despite their status in the game, they were really impressive with their accessibility,” Sauvage said.
After a productive skills session, the NRL referees spent more time talking to the Brisbane match officials.
Sauvage said the pair’s input was greatly appreciated by the Brisbane referees, especially some of the younger members who will be heading out to various representative carnivals soon.
“We’ve got some good kids coming through,” said Sauvage, whose dedicated team of referees travel far and wide every weekend to officiate in hundreds of matches across the Brisbane Second Division, Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League and Brisbane & District Women’s Rugby League.
Sauvage is never too far away from a game of footy himself.
This week he spent a couple of days monitoring the performances of young referees at Met East selection trials and last weekend he made the trip out to Russell Island.
The Russell Island Stingrays are a newly formed club with four junior teams.
Sauvage caught the ferry to attend their home matches last weekend, carrying out some important coaching and development work with the father and son refereeing combination of Lee and Lachlan Bruce.
