Graeme Matthew PSM, a much respected (and, indeed, loved) former teacher and school counsellor at Alfred Deakin High, is a long-time Geelong supporter. He was a happy man last Saturday when his beloved Cats won the AFL grand final in emphatic style. Graeme was a talented and effective second row forward with the Royals Rugby Club in the 1970s and early 1980s. (He was my second row partner in Royals Juniors for a number of years, as well.) 

I’m sure he would have been as annoyed as I was on 15 September to see our gutsy Wallabies denied a victory that was rightfully theirs by the French referee’s crazy decision to take away a penalty he gave them in the 79th minute, and award a scrum to the NZ All Blacks, which they won and scored from.

Maybe the referee was punishing us for scrapping the submarine deal with France – who knows? – but out of the four football codes, rugby union seems to throw up some pretty average international top-grade referees. Indeed, I can’t recall too much angst being directed at soccer referees or AFL umpires, or even NRL referees.

I concede that being a referee in any code, especially rugby, is a hard job. I do think the rules of rugby union (rugby) need to be streamlined. A lot of the rules should be dispensed with, especially the technical ones around scrum play. Over the last 10 years, I can think of at least six games where bad refereeing decisions cost Australia a test match. Referees are only human, but some seem to think that people come to see them – they don’t!

The best referees are the ones who are hardly noticed, who just go about their job quietly, with a minimum of fuss, and who let the game flow.

A referee in this mould, and one to watch in the future, is young Mason Henderson (hooker for the Vikings under-16s), whose father is well-known Vikings and ACT Vets rugby identity, Andrew Henderson. Mason has refereed the ACT Vets games now for two years, and he has what it takes. Watch this space in 10 to 20 years’ time.

NRL referees are generally better than rugby referees, but they too make the odd mistake. Who can forget the confusion caused by the referee of the Raiders versus Easts grand final a few years back that cost the Raiders the game? There is currently controversy from last week’s game about a forward pass leading to an Eels try against the North Queensland Cowboys.

On that note, my pick for the NRL grand final is Penrith. Although I’ve always had a soft spot for the Parramatta Eels; whilst they are the underdogs, underdogs sometimes surprise. Just look at Ukraine against the Russians. By coincidence, Ukraine’s flag is the same colour as the Eels.

So, go the Eels, and Slava Ukraini!