Inside Rugby League's Full-Time Refereeing: Beyond the Whistle Documentary Explores The 2024 Season
The documentary Beyond the Whistle covers the 2024 rugby league season, highlighting referees Liam Moore and Chris Kendall as top contenders for the league's leading official. It also features Phil Bentham, the head of match officials.
Full-time referees operate within a structure similar to a rugby club, including coaches, physios, strength and conditioning staff, masseurs, and analysts. Their training occurs at the Etihad Campus in Manchester on a 46 weeks-on and 6 weeks-off cycle.
Referees prepare for peak fitness with video analysis and ball skills, though tackling is not part of on-field preparation. Currently, there has been no French Super League referee since the retirement of Ben Casty.
With about a dozen potential referees for seven weekend games, the Rugby Football League cannot enforce a hometown-referee rule. Tara Jones is the only woman in the group; Liam Rush from Batley is the youngest full-time referee, with his brother Kieran playing for Huddersfield and Jamaica.
Jack Smith, a former marine wounded in Afghanistan, began refereeing at 21 during rehabilitation and became one of the first career referees before full-time roles began in 2007.
Decision-making involves 50-50 calls and requires a unified voice among officials, guided by Phil Bentham to prevent dissent. Video refereeing uses open microphones, and decisions must rely on sufficient evidence; officials aim to present proving angles even when new footage contradicts initial views.
Rule enforcement includes protocols on high tackles and head-and-shoulder contact, shaped by pre-season input from coaches. Scheduling demands personal sacrifices, with Mondays and Tuesdays frequently spent in Manchester and only Wednesdays guaranteed free. Families must adapt, exemplified by Liam Rush whose mother, Louise, died weeks after presenting his Super League shirt.
