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5 days ago

Paul Eden Announces his Retirement from NSW High Performance Squad
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Yesterday, graded member #1014, Paul Eden announced that he would be moving on from refereeing to focus more on family and work commitments.
Paul began refereeing as part of the Western Suburbs Rugby League Referees’ Association in 2011. He showed great promise and dedication to his craft in the Junior League. In 2017, he became a member of the Junior Reps Squad. He was a standout early on, very much the ultimate sponge, willing to soak up the coaching that he was now provided with. This early potential saw him named the Les Matthews (Rookie of the Year) Award winner for 2017.
Paul’s upward trajectory continued in 2018, when named the Kevin Jeffes Trophy recipient for the Most Improved Referee in the Junior Reps Squad. He was a consistent fixture as a referee in the Harold Matthews and SG Ball competitions throughout this period, refereeing in the Harold Matthews Finals Series and being appointed as Standby for the Grand Final. He also ventured to Mackay that year to officiate in the U15’s National Championships. To cap it all off, in September of 2018, he was named Junior Reps Referee of the Year at the NSWRL Brad Fittler Awards night at Star City Casino.
With an obvious talent and thirst for ongoing development, he ticked off another major goal in being graded to the NSWRLRA as member #1014 in May of 2019. Life Member #145 Paul Kalina, presented Paul with his certificate at the May General Meeting at the NSW Centre of Excellence.
An ever-reliable contributor, Paul, affectionately termed “Garden” by his graded peers amassed an impressive number of matches throughout his almost 6 years in the High Performance Squad. Last year, he brought up 50 games as a referee in Jersey Flegg. In 2020, he was an In Goal Judge for the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership Grand Final. This became a role in which he performed strongly. The trust in knowing that he could fulfill many officiating roles and get the job done could be seen by his recent hattrick of grand final appointments as an In Goal Judge to the state’s premier competition; the NSW Cup in 2022, 23 & 24.
A quick anecdote that surmises Paul’s dedication to the cause, which still gets a laugh was when he rolled his ankle at Crestwood Oval one afternoon. Even in severe discomfort and laying prone on the ground, he managed to muster the strength to put the whistle to his mouth, whack his hands up and call “time off”. He has certainly been an integral part of the Grade Squad since his arrival in 2019.
His final Grade game counts read as follows:
 130 total games
 3 NSW Cup touchlines
 8 Ron Massey Cup touchlines
 3 Sydney Shield centres & 28 touchlines
 56 Jersey Flegg centres & 32 touchlines
Even since his progression out of the district, Paul has remained committed to helping the next crop coming through at Western Suburbs. He has been steadfast in his contribution to his local association, serving in numerous off field roles and attending countless training sessions. A most commendable attitude to have and portray.
The squad will no doubt miss Paul’s presence around the group, his underrated wit, work ethic and unquestionable hunger to improve make him a most valued team member. He will now step away from officiating and look to spend some more quality time with his wife Emma and son Charlie. The work, family and football balance is such a delicate and difficult factor to manage and its evident Paul that you have done so incredibly well, always sharing the load proportionately amongst each facet of your life. On behalf of all the refereeing fraternity, congratulations on your contribution to the great game and all the best with your future endeavours. ... See MoreSee Less

NSWRL Referees Association

4 weeks ago

Last night, graded member #1035 Tate Hoobin, announced that he would be hanging up the boots to pursue other goals outside of refereeing. Tate was graded from Newcastle Referees in 2023 after performing strongly in the Regional Junior Reps program. Taking up the flag in Grade, Tate officiated a total of 62 touchlines. The last of which was a Jersey Flegg line yesterday at Campbelltown Stadium between the Wests Tigers & NZ Warriors. His grading demonstrated the ongoing development of the pathways from regional areas into the NSW High Performance Squad. Tate's commitment to refereeing was strong, as one of many members who travelled weekly from the different regions around NSW, he spent many hours on the road. A high volume of games in a short period, often consisting of regular multi-day double ups of a weekend. Congratulations Tate on your grade career and all the best for your next endeavours. A breakdown of Tate's games includes:
- 9 RMC Lines
- 21 Sydney Shield Lines
- 30 Flegg Lines
- 2 HNWP Lines ... See MoreSee Less