Shayne Hayne and Ashley Klein named referees for State of Origin series opener

SHAYNE Hayne and Ashley Klein have been appointed to referee game one of the 2013 State of Origin series at ANZ Stadium on June 5.

SHAYNE Hayne and Ashley Klein have been appointed to referee game one of the 2013 State of Origin series at ANZ Stadium on June 5.

It will be the ninth occasion that Hayne has officiated an Origin match with Klein making his debut just four seasons after moving to the NRL from the UK Super League.

It caps a remarkable rise for Klein who returned to Australia having started officiating in the Super League in 2003.

After being named international referee of the year in 2006, the 33-year-old was handed the reins for the the 2008 Rugby League World Cup final where his performance infuriated former Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart.

Stuart, who stood down as NSW coach after last year to coach Parramatta, was forced to resign as Australia coach after verbally attacking Klein in a Brisbane hotel foyer after his side's shock 34-20 defeat by the Kiwis.

NRL referees boss Daniel Anderson said both Hayne and Klein fully deserved their appointments after strong starts to the season.

"We had a number of referees who, through their performances, have shown they are ready to officiate in a match of this calibre and that is a credit to the hard work of the entire match officials squad," said Anderson.

"Shayne and Ashley have consistently been among the best-performed referees each week and have certainly earned the right to represent the match officials team on this stage."

Anderson also announced Russell Turner and Steve Carrall as touch judges for the game with Steve Clark and Henry Perenara named as video referees.