Even with the NRL back in full swing, that doesn’t mean our A to Z of the NRL can take a break, and we push on with the letter R to remember some of the great Forgotten NRL Referees.
Referees were a big talking point heading into the relaunch of the NRL 2020 season, with the on-field officials being reduced – by half – to one, which in turn led to the off-field discussion about referees doubling, as there were worries of boycotts delaying the season starting.
It is a shame that some NRL referees and touch judges lost their positions, but as a whole having just the one referee and new rules is working just fine. Well, until the first blunder ruins the new obscurity of the referee that is.
So before referees are forgotten with this new era of needing them less, we continue our exploration of the A to Z of the NRL with Forgotten NRL Referees.
We have included quick little stats for each referee with a link for more. In the event of a tie for each record, we chose the teams with the most games officiated.
MOGHSEEN JADWAT
Fifty-three (53) Games 1997-2000
For us Jadwat is the greatest of the Forgotten NRL Referees.
It’s not all about the great name, but it is a great name.
He now has a cult following, but like any referee he wasn’t without the occasional bit of controversy back in the day. But overall he wasn’t too incompetent.
He is now high up in the Commonwealth Bank, so hasn’t missed out in life away from the rugby league field.
A brilliant piece on Jadwat can be found here.
Full record here.
QUICK STATS
Team with Best Record under Jadwat: Parramatta – 100% (4/4).
Team with Worst Record under Jadwat: Gold Coast – 0% (0/6).
Best For and Against for Penalties: Illawarra – 1.80.
Worst For and Against for Penalties: St George Illawarra – 0.6.
TONY MAKSOUD
Forty (40) Games 1995-1997
Perhaps it is biased as an Intrust Super Cup follower, or the fact that these days he is principal at the local primary school, but we are big fans of Tony Maksoud, who was the leading referee in the Queensland competition for years.
As amiable a person as we have met in rugby league, the occasional chat at Bishop Park was remembered fondly.
Perhaps the NRL didn’t quite work out, and he has been panned by those who look just at his NRL record, but their loss was Queensland’s gain.
Maksoud refereed plenty of Intrust Super Cup grand finals, was consistently voted referee of the year, and when he hung up the whistle he continued to act as video referee and was involved in their development.
He is a top guy, and certainly worth of inclusion in our A to Z of Forgotten Referees.
Full record here.
QUICK STATS
Team with Best Record under Maksoud: four x 100% (2/2).
Team with Worst Record under Maksoud: Parramatta/Balmain – 0% (0/3).
Best For and Against for Penalties: Sydney Roosters – 4.50.
Worst For and Against for Penalties: Balmain – 0.62.
DAVID MANSON
One hundred and thirty-three (133) Games 1992-1997
David Manson’s biggest moment in rugby league has to be the 1991 State of Origin game, where a rampaging Mark Geyer and Wally Lewis faced up to each other.
In an era where the officials stayed well out of slapping range, Manson was right in amongst one of the more infamous State of Origin moments.
This was when the referee was chosen from each state to take charge of the game when it is played in the other state.
Manson was certainly not the wildest Queensland referee selection from this era mind you. Stay tuned for the Grasshopper.
That 1991 State of Origin game preceded a stint in the national competition, which saw him officiate in 133 games across six seasons. A very decent return.
Another big moment for Manson was in the 1996 ARL Grand Final, where he was gave a controversial call that gave Manly a huge advantage. More on that story here, where the referee still backs his decision from back in the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlaVeK9lbWE
Full record here.
QUICK STATS
Team with Best Record under Manson: Manly – 71% (W21 D2 L8).
Team with Worst Record under Manson: South Queensland Crushers – 0% (0/3).
Best For and Against for Penalties: South Sydney – 1.33.
Worst For and Against for Penalties: Perth – 0.43.
BARRY GOMERSALL
OK, so not quite the NRL, but you really couldn’t have a list of past rugby league referees without the infamous Grasshopper.
We couldn’t really say he is forgotten either, and the larger than life Queensland referee was an integral part of State of Origin in the 1980s.
He was a character, and this was an era where the referees were chosen by the state bodies themselves to officiate games. He was accused of being a 14th man for the Maroons from time to time, so why wouldn’t Queensland select him as the whistle blower?
Others disagree, claiming sour grapes from a NSW side that took six attempts to win a series.
One great quote from Wikipedia regarding his perceived bias in NSW was, “How do you account for the fact that in your nine matches Queensland won seven and NSW won only two?”
Gomersall was said to have replied, “Well, surely anyone’s entitled to two bad games.”
Gold.
He did officiate in nine Origin games in the 1980s, along with some Internationals.
He was determined too. Why else would you run for the same state parliament seat five times in a row without success?
He died in 2007, and is fondly remembered north of the Tweed.
QUICK STATS
Lots of Queensland wins.
TONY DE LA HERAS
One hundred and three (103) Games 2006-2012
Most referees are lucky to get away with a career without being remembered as inept, biased or a thoroughly unlikeable turd; for Tony De La Heras, the moment he will likely be remembered for won’t be fun to recall. If he can.
The video from YouTube below shows when De La Heras becomes entangled in a Rabbitohs break away against the Broncos. Having gotten in the way of the escaping Souths players, he was quickly gotten out of the way by the Rabbitohs, which put him off balance.
Sadly for De La Heras, one of the NRL’s most solid knees (and everything) belonged to Tonie Carroll, who was steaming through. He collected the referee at pace in the head, knocking him out.
He recovered, and went on to officiate in 103 NRL games.
His career never reached the same heights publicity-wise, but we can’t remember anything else about his ref career, which is a good thing.
De La Heras was sacked in 2012 to make way for the newer models, but few could argue that they have ended up with better referees than De Le Heras.
Aside from that incident, De La Heras makes our list of great Forgotten NRL Referees as he has a great name.
QUICK STATS
Team with Best Record under De La Heras: Manly – 66.7% (8/12).
Team with Worst Record under De La Heras:: Roosters – 22.5% (4/17).
Best For and Against for Penalties: Wests Tigers – 1.51.
Worst For and Against for Penalties: North Queensland – 0.73.
SHAYNE HAYNE
Three hundred and twenty-seven (327) Games 2001-2014
Was Shayne Hayne the most hateable referee in the NRL?
We think that you can take the superfluous ‘y’ from his first name to answer that question.
Maybe the onset of a bad memory from way too many late nights watching sport are catching up, but all we can remember of Hayne was high-cut shorts and overbearing arrogance.
His on-field demeanour was a mix of old-school Queensland policeman, school teacher, and Sky News pundit all rolled into one. So not someone that is remembered fondly.
He got to referee 14 State of Origin clashes in his career, so he was a decent referee, if not likeable.
For the record, his real name is Kevin John Hayne.
His full record here.
QUICK STATS
Team with Best Record under Hayne: Manly – 66.38% (38-1-19).
Team with Worst Record under Hayne: Souths – 36.46% (17-1-30).
Best For and Against for Penalties: Canterbury – 0.80.
Worst For and Against for Penalties: Parramatta – 1.30.
BILL HARRIGAN
Bill Harrigan is not included, because he is hardly forgotten.
One can only thank the current referees for agreeing to a deal for the revamped 2020 season, otherwise there would have been more Hollywood in 2020.
