Top whistleblower: Harding named best referee in Group 10 competition

ALTHOUGH he’s shattered to not be taking the field at some stage in Sunday’s grand finals at Wade Park, Orange’s Dale Harding said being named Group 10 Rugby League’s Referee of the Year, voted by the clubs, will make watching from the sidelines a little bit easier.

Harding busted his ankle two weeks out from the finals and, after “toughing it out through those last games”, was forced to bite the bullet and withdraw himself from appointments in the post season.

However, with an outstanding season under his belt anyway, Harding was named the competition’s best referee and is now thought to be the only person to have won the Group 10 trophy and Central West Rugby Union’s corresponding award, which he picked up in 2011.

“I think I’d probably be the only one to have doubled up. This one definitely wasn’t expected. I thought one of the top two guys, that’d be Jason Whitney and Nathan Blanchard, would have won it,” Harding said yesterday.

“I’m really happy with it anyway, I didn’t come across to league to win anything like this, I really only came across to try and crack first grade. I’ve enjoyed all of this season, and it’s really nice to get this kind of recognition.”

In a year where he controlled games across several different grades, one game sticks out in his mind - one of Bathurst St Pat’s wins over Bathurst Panthers in premier league.

“It was just a really good game of footy, with two sides really keen on playing and winning. But I enjoy every weekend really,” he said.

Whitney has been appointed to control Sunday’s no-doubt hostile main game between Orange CYMS and Lithgow Workies, with Blanchard and Nick Lander to run the lines. 

Chris Redding and Kevin Burke will control the in-goals. 

This will be the first year since 2008 Blanchard hasn’t refereed the top grade.

Harding said he’s confident all five will do a stellar job on the day, and said the game itself could come down to the wire, highlighting CYMS centre and skipper Ben McAlpine’s performance as the potentially telling factor.

“To be honest, I think it all revolves around Ben McAlpine and how he plays, but it will be a very good game,” Harding said.

“If CYMS can control Lithgow’s pack that will go a long way to winning it, and if Workies can control CYMS’ backs that will go a long way to winning it.”