Illawarra Rugby League junior referees to wear GoPros to stamp out player and crowd abuse

With increased cases of crowd and player abuse towards referees in junior leagues, the Illawarra Rugby League is set to kit their refs up with GoPros in an attempt to stamp out this behaviour. LEARN MORE.

Junior refs in the Illawarra Rugby League will be kitted with GoPros as they look to deter behavioural issues. Picture: Kevin Merrigan

Illawarra Rugby League referees will be kitted up with GoPros in junior rugby league matches starting this weekend as the league looks to stamp out a number of behavioural issues on the footy field.

Referees in charge of games from U11’s through to U16’s will now have the added video support, a decision that was made in response to a number of issues referees have faced in 2023.

These issues range from crowd abuse directed towards refs, to managers fighting on the sideline, to players harassing refs on the field, the unwanted list goes on.

League and Club Support Officer Blake Edwards is keen to put an end to some of the torment that referees have been enduring with the new technological boost.

“The overall goal is to obviously deter poor crowd behaviour,” Edwards said.

“We’ve had too many widespread incidents in our game, even in other sports like football and basketball you see similar incidents.

“It’ll act as a protective measure for our referees and hopefully nut out some of that bad behaviour.”

Junior refs in the Illawarra Rugby League will be kitted with GoPros as they look to deter behavioural issues. Picture: Kevin Merrigan

Referee numbers for local competitions are at a low, not just in the Illawarra, but for country footy in general, according to the President of the Illawarra Rugby League Referees Association Andrew Riolo.

“It’s always been a struggle, it’s the same with local leagues like Group 7 and other country areas,” Riolo said.

“I refereed in Darwin the other week because they were short on numbers, and that’s a high quality competition, which says enough about the shortage.

“Only a small percent of people have the ability and the personality to handle the spotlight of being a referee.

“At the end of the day, no one wants to be abused.”

Junior referee Harrison Armitt. Picture: Kevin Merrigan

Harrison Armitt is a third year junior referee in the Illawarra Rugby League, a rare case of someone who no longer plays footy himself and has instead dedicated himself to refereeing.

Armitt is excited at the prospect of having some backup for his decision in the form of GoPro footage.

“It’s going to be massive,” Armitt said.

“Especially in situations where I haven’t got a proper look in yet, it’s definitely going to help.

“A lot of the time it’s my word against their word, which is what can lead to abuse.

“It’s not warranted, I’m only human and I can make mistakes.”

While looking to deter conduct breaches and behavioural issues, the technology will look to act as a support mechanism and a coaching tool for referee development and retention.

“It’s a bit like a speed camera,” Riolo said.

“It’s the perfect tool for referees, if they cop some abuse from the crowd or from a player, the camera will pick it up and we can follow up with it later on.”

GoPro technology was trialled successfully in the 2nd division of Illawarra Rugby League a few years ago, where the league saw big improvements to discipline with the added help of video review.

“It was very effective for that age group, we haven’t had as many issues since using it,” Edwards said.

“Hopefully we can get the same results with the juniors.”