Former Burleigh Bears five-eighth Daniel Schwass rising up the rugby league refereeing ranks

Daniel Schwass is on the fast-track to the pinnacle of rugby league.

DANIEL Schwass is on the fast-track to the pinnacle of rugby league.

Two years ago, the five-eighth was lining up alongside his identical twin brother Hayden out on the Intrust Super Cup field for Burleigh – but it’s not as a player that he is now earning plaudits.

Schwass made the decision to focus on refereeing at the end of the 2017 season. As a teenager, he had been earmarked as a future ace with the whistle in hand and now that he has devoted himself to it, is rising up the ranks.

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The 23-year-old has officiated Intrust Super Cup games this year and got his first taste of the State of Origin stage this month as main referee for the under-18 Queensland v NSW clash at Suncorp Stadium.

Daniel Schwass refereeing an Intrust Super Cup match. Picture: SMP Images

“I reffed when I was in juniors and I enjoyed it,” he said.

“They actually wanted me to stop playing back then and just focus purely on refereeing but then I got a contract with the Titans 20s so I ran with that.

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“But I always had the intention of coming back to reffing. Midway through 2017 I kind of thought I’m starting to not enjoy my footy as much anymore and I might as well give something else a go … and yeah it paid off.”

Schwass trains twice a week in Brisbane and once a fortnight in Sydney, between working full-time.

Schwass scores a try during his Intrust Super Cup days at the Bears. Picture: Mike Batterham

Never the nervous type even as a player, he has relished the freedom involved with how he prepares for a match and the self-accountability that comes with every time he steps on the field as a referee.

As for dealing with the hatred that is all too often directed at referees, Schwass will undoubtedly face more hurdles as he progresses to the big stage but he has a good outlook on how to handle himself in games around southeast Queensland for now.

Hayden and Daniel Schwass. Picture Mike Batterham

“I’m probably pretty fortunate in the fact that I know a lot of people at a lot of clubs so that sort of helps me out a fair bit,” he said.

“You get a sledge here and there on the field but it’s just as easy to throw a little sledge back at them in one way or another.”

Intrust Super Cup action takes a break for representative round this weekend; Tweed and Burleigh will both return next Saturday against Townsville and Ipswich, respectively.