Belinda Sharpe and Kasey Badger will make history on Friday night, with each appointed to referee a men’s NRL trial match.
It marks the first time in rugby league history that female referees have ben appointed to top-level men’s games under the one referee structure.
Sharpe and Badger will separately officiate games at Leichardt Oval on Friday. Badger will referee the pre-season Rooster and Raiders game, and Sharpe will referee the Wests Tigers and Sea Eagles game.
Previously, Sharpe has officiated men’s NRL games under the two-referee structure, but Friday will mark the first time she has officiated on her own at the level. In 2019, she became the NRL’s first ever female referee, breaking a 111-year history of male referees.
Sharpe and Badgeer were appointed to the men’s NRL’s full-time referee squad in 2019.
Both had previously been appointed as touch judges in the NRL. Sharpe in 2014 and Badger in 2015.
Jared Maxwell, the NRL’s referee general manger, said Friday night marks an important step for both women, and the game more generally,
“We can use the role model aspect as much as we want but the component around having female officials at the elite level of rugby league is clear,” he told nrl.com.
“The pathway presents itself and this Friday is a wonderful opportunity for not only the two individuals but our game to showcase that pathway.”