Belinda Sleeman set to become first female NRL referee

[Twizzle]

Belinda Sleeman set to become first female NRL trial referee
By Chris De Silva

Belinda Sleeman is set to make some rugby league history when she becomes the first female to referee in an NRL trial match this weekend.

Sleeman, who has previously been a sideline referee in the NRL and is a regular referee in Queensland's Intrust Super Cup, said that the appointment was a step towards her ultimate goal.

"Everybody's goal at this level is to referee in the NRL," she said.

"This weekend I guess is another step closer to that for me. A really good opportunity to test myself on that level.

Sleeman has previously been a sideline referee in NRL matches as well as refereeing in Queensland cup competitions (AAP )
"Obviously the skill level goes up, the size of the players the speed of the game increases each level you go up."


Sleeman is no stranger to making history in the sport after becoming the first female to named as a referee at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

The debut at the World Cup came after Sleeman was named the referee in the 2017 Pacific Test between Tonga and Fiji.

https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/belind...-1feb-41cc-995a-44d8ce680ac0?ocid=Social-WWOS

 

[Vee]

Woohoo! You go Girl! And don't take any shite from the boyz.

 

[Differ To The Coifed]

I thought Cam Smith was the first girl to referee at NRL level.

 

[carcharias]

I blame badger.

 

[mozza91]

Good on her. I’m pretty sure there’s no reverse parking involved so she’ll be fine.

 

[gUt]

penalty broncos

 

[Yosemite Sam]

She's a good sort.

 

[_Johnsy]

Oooohhh, a female ref in the ranks. Mrs. Smith will not be happy.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Good luck to her.

 

[taipan]

I blame badger.

The Rah Rah badger??

 

[Rhino_NQ]

I didn't think pam had the cardio for it


Oh wait

 

[Mr Angry]

Good stuff.

 

[The Charlatan]

She can't do any worse than what is there.

 

[carcharias]

She can't do any worse than what is there.

I bet she could.

 

[The Charlatan]

I bet she could.

What's lower than rock bottom? There's been some pretty f**king woeful refereeing in recent years.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

As long as someone doesn't get penalised for something they said/did 6 months ago

 

[OzDragon]

I wonder what drives someone to become a professional sports ref. Constant player/fan abuse and media scrutiny for (from what I know) average money. Doesn't exactly seem appealing.

Anyway, good luck to her.

 

[carcharias]

What's lower than rock bottom? There's been some pretty f**king woeful refereeing in recent years.

Ok
Let’s try again .
Without trying to sound sexist
She could be hopeless at the actual job.
She could be intimidated into making shit home town calls.
This has nothing to do with her sex.
IMO male refs have been intimidated into home town calls.
She could easily be worse than every other ref.
Not because she is a f**king woman but because she is shit at the actual job.

Hope I haven’t offended anyone .

 

[King hit]

I wonder what drives someone to become a professional sports ref. Constant player/fan abuse and media scrutiny for (from what I know) average money. Doesn't exactly seem appealing.

Anyway, good luck to her.

A lot of this abuse can be traced back to commentators who mind you are wrong most of the time

 

[The Charlatan]

Ok
Let’s try again .
Without trying to sound sexist
She could be hopeless at the actual job.
She could be intimidated into making shit home town calls.
This has nothing to do with her sex.
IMO male refs have been intimidated into home town calls.
She could easily be worse than every other ref.
Not because she is a f**king woman but because she is shit at the actual job.

Hope I haven’t offended anyone .

Que?

I never said it had anything to do with her sex, nor did I imply you did either...

Won't matter anyway, if she is as shit or worse than what we've got, she'll have a job for years.