Smithtown's Jake Sutherland put the icing on the cake of another tremendous season when he was the referee for the Jersey Flegg grand final between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canberra Raiders last Sunday.
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Sutherland didn't shy away from making the big calls in front of a large crowd at Parramatta's new Bankwest Stadium.
The 25-year-old sent a player to the sin bin in the opening five minutes for a professional foul and blew a penalty in favour of the Raiders with less than two minutes before full-time which gave them the opportunity to level the scores and send the decider into extra-time.
However, the Raiders goalkicker missed and the Rabbitohs triumphed 16-14.
Sutherland has taken numerous steps towards achieving his dream of becoming an NRL referee this season.
"It was a pretty good year. I had opportunities to be the middle referee in NSW Cup, which is only one grade below the NRL," Sutherland told the Argus.
"I was also a part of the finals series as I was a touch judge for a couple of NSW Cup games and the middle referee for a few lower grade games.
"It's great to be a part of it because I get more exposure and experience as a referee in bigger games."
Sutherland is growing in confidence and it has resulted in him climbing the ranks.
"This year has been a turning point for me confidence wise," he said.
"I have an increased confidence in my ability and what I do on the field."
Sutherland said refereeing the Jersey Flegg decider was an experience to remember and he's hopeful he will be in a position to referee the higher grades on a regular basis.
"It was an awesome opportunity to referee the Jersey Flegg grand final. It was my first time at Bankwest Stadium and it was incredible," Sutherland said.
"The atmosphere was fantastic and it set the stage for a big match.
"Hopefully the experience I have gained this year will put me in a position to referee NSW Cup games from the start of next season."
Sutherland thanked members of the Macleay community who reached out to him to send support and who tuned in to watch him referee the grand final.
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