Quote Originally Posted by KITZ View Post
That's not actually true, they have to do a certain number of hours and be signed off by an assessor before they can ref PYL - and they don't come from community straight into JDL either, most are playing PYL or the div below - those that do play.

Anyway for those commenting on the referees and selection of, maybe sign up for a course or get your kids to and then everyone can stop complaining - watch your kid ref a game and get a better perspective and then you can also comment on their stuff ups - because they will, no one is perfect.

Just be thankful the boys get ref's the girls can't even get a full set for a game that's supposed to be a knockout tournament played to win a trophy. #complainless.

And yes there was a ref assessor / 4th there, the ref's are learning and I'm interested to see if the yellow from the 18's gets turned into a red based on the 4th officials report.
Actually, as a former member of Northern refs, first years with Northern get put straight onto JDL at a minimum, if not PYL, it varies on their age and ability. What else can they put them on in Northern comps? That?s my point, it?s a much better apprenticeship to learn on the community grades first rather than going straight into JDL or PYL. Sure some can handle it at Northern level, but a lot can?t. Much better off to learn on low level u/12s or u/13s interdistrict than PYL. Just because you play at a level doesn?t mean you have the ability to ref up to it.

Agree with your second paragraph, the amount of people who comment on rules but have never even done a LotG course is astounding