Referee Round-up: Beattie's just rewards in season 2022

Author: Rikki-Lee Arnold Statewide content producer
Timestamp: Thu 30 Jun 2022, 12:26 PM

It has been quite the week for Kailey Beattie.

The Sunshine Coast product took to the sidelines to officiate in last Friday’s women’s State of Origin – her second appearance on that stage – and will this weekend pull out the flag once again to make her Hostplus Cup debut as a touch judge.

Beattie, a member of the Queensland Rugby League High Performance Unit, said she thought people may be sick of congratulating her, but it had been one of the most memorable weeks in her career.

She will take to the sidelines in the Ipswich Jets versus PNG Hunters Round 13 clash on Saturday, after discovering the news of her debut from HPU coach Andrew Wareham on Tuesday afternoon.

Beattie (right) with fellow Queensland match officials, Tori Wilkie (left) and Belinda Sharpe (centre).

“It’s an honour,” Beattie said of her Cup debut.

“This progression only comes about because of the hard work of the people behind the scenes. We’re in a really positive place in terms of officiating.

“I found out (Tuesday) night. I was in the middle of my review from women’s Origin when the appointments came out, so I hadn’t read them yet.

“Andrew Wareham he rang and asked if I had looked at the appointments.

“I’ve had a few people try to tell me it was coming this year but I always feel like there’s people in a better position than me doing better things.

“I really just enjoy being part of it.”

Beattie will have no trouble in putting her excitement aside come Saturday to focus on the job.

She’s done it before, particularly on the women’s State of Origin stage, which she says remains her career highlight.

She first officiated in last year’s Origin clash, in her hometown on the Sunshine Coast, and returned this year at Canberra’s GIO Stadium in what she hopes is a much more memorable performance.

“I was a lot more relaxed this year,” Beattie said.

“Last year I was more nervous and it was a bit of a numb feeling. I don’t remember much of last year. It was my first time in that environment so it was surreal and I was a bit in awe to be in that environment.

“I don’t think I remember much of it because I was focusing so much on what was going on.

“This year I really got to enjoy it and embrace it for what it was, in that Canberra cold.

“They are probably the top accolades that I have achieved in the game. You get to be in that arena and Origin is not like any other game.

“There is a lot more passion. You get those big crowds which you don’t get in your standard weekend games. It’s really important. It’s the best and the ones I will remember the most.”

Beattie said beyond more Cup appearances, she is also hopeful to be part of the competition’s finals series and to officiate in a few NRLW games later this year.

She also works tirelessly to give back to community rugby league through her position as junior referee coordinator with the referee’s association on the Sunshine Coast.

Recent promotions

Five match officials from the QRL's match official junior representatives program have been promoted to the QRL Match Officials High Performance Unit.

Dylan Lawrence, Cameron Wegner, Adam Rossiter and Tori Wilkie from the Gold Coast Referees Association, and Trey Hubert from Bundaberg's Sugar Coast Referees Association, all earned the promotions, taking the HPU squad total to 47 match officials.

Queensland Rugby League state match officials manager Clayton Sharpe said they were recognised for a number of reasons, including their attitude and consistency.

"Strengthening our position as a truly statewide program and pathway, Trey Hubert has achieved elevation while living and officiating from his hometown of Bundaberg," Sharpe said.

"It is a credit to each match official that they have been recognised for their positive attitude, willingness to learn, ability to accept feedback, and ultimately, their consistent performance.

"We know these match officials will absolutely contribute to the high performance culture of the QRL HPU."

NRL Women’s National Championships

From Thursday June 9 until Sunday June 12, the Women's National Championships were held at Burleigh, providing a representative opportunity not just for players, but young female match officials.

Three female match officials from the QRL HPU and junior representative program were selected to officiate in the Under 19 final, including Wilkie, Beattie and South Burnett's Bridie Prendergast.

The National Women's Championship final match official team with NRL general manager of elite officiating, Jared Maxwell.

Representative Round

The QRL match official statewide elite development pathway receives strong recognition over the Representative Round through the appointment of current and past QRL match officials to a number of state, NRL and International representative matches.

Here is what Queensland's match officials have been up to over this time.

XXXX League Championship semi-final

Following on from the successful regional A grade carnivals - XXXX Foley Shield, XXXX 47th Battalion and the XXXX Chairman’s Challenge - an all Central region match official team were appointed to the semi-final of the XXXX League Championship.

The match was held in Rockhampton between the home team and Townsville on Saturday June 18.

The referee was Marcus Fitzgerald (Sunshine Coast), with Tanner Howard (Rockhampton) and Dan Larose (Gladstone) as the touch judges.

Annual Interstate Universities match

The annual Interstate Universities match between QLD Universities and NSW Universities was held on Saturday June 25 on the Sunshine Coast.

The following match officials were appointed following strong performances so far this season:

Dan Schwass - Referee (Gold Coast)
Jack Klein – Touch judge (Gold Coast)
Marcus Fitzgerald – Touch judge (Sunshine Coast)
Nik Inthout – Standby match official (Brisbane)

The Interstate Universities officiating team.

Under 19 Queensland v NSW

Played at Leichhardt Oval on Thursday June 23, there were a number of Queenslanders involved with the match official team.

For the women's Under 19 game, Wilkie was a touch judge while Vic Collins was the post game coach for the women's Under 19s and Chris Butler (Brisbane) was the bunker supervisor for both women's and men's.

Meanwhile, Wyatt Raymond (Townsville) was the referee for the men's match, with Nick Pelgrave (Brisbane) on the sideline.

Women’s State of Origin

The women's State of Origin at GIO Stadium on Friday June 24 was refereed by Belinda Sharpe (Rockhampton) with Beattie (Sunshine Coast) and Wilkie (Gold Coast) on the sidelines.

Chris Butler (Brisbane) was the bunker review official.