Logan teen Harrison Western to ref at Kokomo Nines as PNG inks NRL deal

A Logan teen has put an on field assault behind him to rise as a top rugby league touch judge who will officiate at this weekend’s Kokomo Nines, days after PNG signed a deal to join the NRL.

The annual Kokomo 9 competition kicks off in Logan this weekend with Logan teen Harrison Western to be touch judge. Picture: Contributed

A southside teen named as one of the state’s up-and-coming rugby league umpiring talents will officiate at this weekend’s prestigious international Kokomo 9s event with teams from PNG.

Harrison Western will be a touch judge at the annual carnival, which kicks off at Logan’s Bill Norris Oval and is expected to draw a crowd of more than 20,000 over the weekend.

Western was picked to officiate at the event after rocketing to celebrity status last year when the NRL chose the then 15-year-old to go to Sydney to present medals to the Grand Final referee after the Penrith and Broncos Grand Final. He was the only Queensland representative at last year’s NRL grand final.

This weekend’s Logan showdown will be the first major contest since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Papua New Guinea was set to become the NRL’s 19th franchise, with an in-principle deal being brokered between the Australian Rugby League Commission and the federal government.

Mr Albanese on Wednesday backed a 10-year, $600 million funding plan to bring PNG into the NRL.

Western, now 16, began his rugby league career as a player with the Slacks Creek Rugby League Club under 15s and 16s but this year has decided to focus on refereeing full-time.

His decision to switch roles was despite being assaulted after an incident in which senior referee Brian Roper, from Brisbane Rugby League Referees Association, was attacked and hospitalised during a game between Dayboro and Souths Inala Warriors in April 2023.

Logan teen Harrison Western, right, went to Sydney last year to give the grand final referee a medal after the big match. Picture: Contributed

Western, who was also involved in the game, reported the incident to the duty officials, before two players attacked him.

The teen has said that he wanted to continue officiating to support the game which was suffering from a shortage of officials.

The schoolboy could be in line for a Logan sporting award and has this week been invited to join the prestigious QRL Statewide Development Program for South East Queensland in November. He was also chosen for the QRL High Performance Unit Development Squad last year.

Logan teen Harrison Western has been selected to be a touch judge at this weekend’s Kokomo 9s competition being played in Logan. Picture: Contributed

Junior representative coaches Nick Morel and Greer Beck will select the 2025 Junior rep squad from the group of youngsters who will then be invited back to resume training in January.

By the end of the 2024 season, Western had refereed more than 100 games, earning himself a spot in the Struddies Cup Year 8 Grand Final and a week later was selected as the middle referee for the Local Junior Rugby League Grand Final between Greenbank and Carina in Division 3.

This weekend he will be quite at home after officiating various school rugby league competitions, including the Broncos Cup, Titans Cup, Aaron Payne Cup, Langer Cup, AIC Competition, Murrie Carnival, and QPICC Carnival.

■ The Annual Kokomo Nines Carnival kicks off at Bill Norris Oval tomorrow, Friday, September 20 at 5pm with the QLD PNG RL Women’s exhibition match against RL Samoa QLD before the Men’s competition on Saturday. Delicious Kaikai will be available for breakfast and lunch from Kokomo’s kitchen with a range of PNG stalls.