Smithtown’s Jake Sutherland has been selected as touch judge for the Holden Cup U20s decider and curtain raiser for the NRL grand final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 23-year-old will cap off an incredible 18 months when he runs the line for the Manly Sea Eagles and Parramatta Eels U20s grand final with kick off at 1.35pm on Sunday.
“It’s been a huge year and a half, it all took off for me after being selected to referee in the junior representative system,” Sutherland told the Argus.
“I went on to referee in the middle in the SG ball grand final last year and I have refereed for U20s matches for most weekends this year.”
Sutherland tore his hamstring and missed six weeks in the middle of the year before he overcame the injury and returned to action.
Positive performances upon his return lead to his selection as touch judge for an U20s match over the first three weeks of the finals series.
Sutherland was notified he would be involved on NRL grand final day on Monday night after a refereeing review session.
“Refereeing is quite a hard job, referees train hard and sacrifice a lot but it makes it all worth it when you are given the opportunity to be a part of such a special day,” Sutherland said.
“It’s pretty incredible, I set goals at the start of the year to strive to achieve but this goes above and beyond them.”
Sutherland’s refereeing career started in the Macleay, when he helped out for local junior club the Smithtown Tigers.
He immediately enjoyed the experience and remained in charge of junior Group Two Rugby League matches, including a U10s and U15s grand final, before he moved to the Central Coast to attend university.
However, he didn’t throw away the whistle as he continued to referee local competitions and was picked up to control representative games soon after.
Sutherland knows it’s a long journey and his dream will requires plenty of hard work, but he is dedicated to achieving his goal of refereeing NRL matches.
“It’s very hard to separate referees but ultimately we are scrutinised on our decision making and I always do my best to make the right calls,” Sutherland said.
“Hopefully it will lead to me wearing an NRL referees badge.”
The former Smithtown Tigers representative encourages juniors to consider involvement in rugby league as a referee.
“I recommend anyone who is considering a position as a referee to go for it,” Sutherland said.
“It’s a very rewarding job and there is a career path.”
