The group travelled down on Tuesday, April 21, and went to Norford Park, Sefton for two hours of fatigue training before being invited to breakfast at the referee Headquarters at ANZ Stadium in Homebush to sit in on a debrief of the previous nights game of Melbourne Storm versus Wests Tigers with leading referees Bill Harrigan, Jarrod Maxwell, Steve Clark, Tony Archer and Shayne Hayne.

The local lads sat in on the debrief where the referees discussed the game and the decisions made, and also points that may have been missed on the night.

After the debrief Bill Harrigan asked Jacob and Josh what they thought of the game and asked if there were any decisions that they didn’t agree with.

Pat Walsh explained that Jacob and Josh are the first guys in Country NSW outside of the Sydney Metropolitan and coast areas to have the opportunity to train with the NRL refs.

“Josh and Jacob where chosen because they have been showing great potential as young referees and the experience gave them the opportunity to see just what is involved in becoming a top class referee with some of the best referees in the world”, Pat said.

“They would have got a lot out of it and it which will help them to improve their skills and knowledge. It’s all part of promoting referees through the ranks and highlights the great career path that is now available to promising young refs”, Pat said.

Both Joshua and Jacob said it was an experience that they would never forget, especially the fatigue training which really put them through their paces as far as fitness goes.

At the end of the day, Jacob and Josh were both given singlets and shorts by the NRL refs in appreciation of their efforts before they made the return trip back to Harden.

Pat said that he hopes there are a lot more trips like this for promising young refs in the future.