By PETER ROWE
It’s tough being a referee – you are often neither right nor wrong, earning praise from some quarters or criticism from others.
But rugby league, like any other sport has to have an arbiter, a referee to oversee the game.
And Alex Maggio is one here in WA, at 21, with three years under his belt, he’s ready to step up in 2025 to take charge of reserve grade games.
Dad James has been a big influence on his refereeing career, but league wasn’t his first game with the whistle, he’d reffed soccer for five years before that at junior level.
“The two codes are different,” Alex admitted.
Alex Maggio at CAS Championships in 2024
“In soccer you can often get all the players after you, whereas in League it’s much better managed with the captain usually only to speak to.
“And if it gets out of hand, then the referee has the discretion to march them 10 metres.”
It rarely does, although Alex did once send a player off – the only time he has – for too much backchat and foul language.
“None of us like to do that, but it just got too much. Usually a good verbal warning is enough to calm things down.
“There’s more respect in League than in soccer.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Scott Spittles has been refereeing for 15 years.
After retiring from playing at the age of 34, he took up the whistle.
“I wanted to stay involved and it’s a great way of staying fit,” Scott said.
“Started in Cairns, then Townsville and Brisbane comps before coming to WA five years ago.”
He wanted to stay in the game and actively promotes the idea that retiring players can stay in the game as a ref.
“They have a lot to give because they are mature and will know the game and can often easily adapt to becoming a ref.”
For Scott his main aim as he crosses the whitewash is to keep everyone on the field.
Scott Spittles at ANZAC Challenge in 2024
“It doesn’t always happen but that’s the aim,” he explained.
“It’s a last resort to send someone – and I have often seen an issue or a player starting to get wound up and I’ll go and stand by him and talk him off the cliff edge.
“I hope it works, but sometimes white line fever takes over and you have no choice.”
For Alex, a St George-mad league fan who grew up in Sydney before moving west with his family when he was young, it has been a good switch from soccer to league.
He travelled east last year for the CAS championships and has been invited to the Nationals in NSW this year.
He’s not the finished article yet though, still learning the man-management skills needed to control games.
“You have to be careful, how to manage players, make your points clear when speaking to players and not engage in long conversations. People want to see footy not the ref,” he said.
“With some incidents like sin-bins you can often see it before it happens, although if someone is giving too much lip and it’s a repeat offender you have little choice.
“Penalties and send offs, foul play – then you have to sort it out.”
Alex says he can often use a set of indicators mentally to decide on key issues on the field – a sort of check list – and a check as well with the touch judge.
“He or she might have had a better angle than me.”
And how does he manage his touchies?
“Look at the ball, the play the ball as the ref is often looking at the defensive line. And be confident in your decisions.”
A good rapport is necessary as touchies will have different referees week-to-week and the interpretation may be different.
“We have indictators to work from,” Scott said. “ And we work with the touchies on how we manage the game.
Davric Noonan is one of the up and coming referees/touch judges in the game
“Man-management is vital and I guess why it has worked for me and I’m pretty thick skinned and I started reffing as a mature adult. I’d seen it as a player, so I found it a lot easier.
“For some kids coming through it can be hard, copping abuse from a coach or the sidelines. They walk off and never return. And that is sad.”
Scott has a theory about communication on the field: Less is more – and for him it works.
“Comms are often not perfect but we have our angles and who watches for what. It usually works.”
He also mentors young referees – something he is passionate about.
“We have to look after them and train them to have peripheral vision – the ability to still see what’s not necessarily directly in front of them.
“You can’t take your eye off the ball, but that peripheral view is key to not missing things.”
Alex understands that process.
“The ref always has discretion on a call. I always call a touchie’s forward pass, but sometimes, not often, but sometimes on a call it’s maybe better to play on,” he said.
Jahraiah Getawan patrols the try line as an in-goal touch judge
An advantage or a situation where it’s not going to benefit either side.
Calls like that come with experience, and always listening to mentors around him.
A message Scott fully endorses.
“It’s amazing, there is more referee coaching here in WA than over east, where there are so many refs it’s impossible to get to everyone.”
“Take onboard all the advice, it will really you grow as a referee.”
Alex learned confidence in soccer so the switch came relatively easy – and he soon found himself in the middle with the whistle.
Experience, he says, breeds experience.
Credibility is another key marker for the experienced Spittles.
You learn where to stand and what to watch for. If you are in the right place then you will gain credibility with the players and the crowd,” he said.
“The crowd may have a go but if they can see you are in control and in the right spots to see things they often understand better.”
After reffing junior games and being part of the officials for last season’s grand finals.- including the Under-17s final – Alex is now ready to step up and take charge of senior games.
Does he have any advice for any youngster contemplating becoming a referee?
“Go for it, it’s good fun. It may not be for everyone, but I love it.”
Scott agrees. “I feel for young refs, they can often find it tough to begin with, but stick with it. It can be very rewarding.
“Come down and give it a go. Find a mentor to learn from. Ask questions, train together and talk to each other.
“You can make a massive contribution to the game.”
And one word of advice from Alex: don’t take your phone on to the field.
“A young ref tucked his mobile into his sock before kickoff and someone called during the game. ’Hello Mum’.“
