With almost 300
NRL matches between them, they are nevertheless rookies plying their new ``trade'' in the
Cronulla-Sutherland district.
...
Source: http://stgeorge.yourguide.com.au/news/local/sport/general/players-swap-ball-for-whistle/783829.aspx
Players swap ball for whistle
BY MICHAEL CARAYANNIS
6/06/2008 2:38:00 PM
SINCE retiring from rugby league last year, Paul Mellor and Henry Perenara have swapped the football for a whistle as they embark on a new career in the refereeing ranks.
With almost 300 NRL matches between them, they are nevertheless rookies plying their new ``trade'' in the Cronulla-Sutherland district.
Perenara, a former New Zealand international who played first grade for five clubs, including St George Illawarra and Cronulla, felt nervous before preseason training began at the end of last year.
"I was very stand-offish at the start,'' Perenara admitted. ``I used to talk to the referees a fair bit and they definitely don't let me forget that.''
Mellor likened the intensity of preseason training to that of a NRL preseason.
``There wasn't a lot of difference between the training,'' said Mellor, who debuted as a 16-year-old for South Sydney.
``Some of the top referees [fitness levels] are right up there with the top NRL guys.''
Mellor said he had lost some of the enjoyment watching matches live as he now focused on the position of the referee rather than watching the match develop.
``As a player you take it for granted that the referees are there,'' Mellor said.
``But there's a lot of pre-thought to where and why they stand where they do.''
Perenara, who lives with former teammate and current Cronulla player Misi Talaupapa, finds himself defending his new teammates, the referees, on every occasion.
``[My old teammates] always put their two cents in,'' Perenara said. ``But I'm on the offensive straight away, and I tell them I'm here to referee first grade and not to make up the numbers.''
Attachment:
Teamwork: Former NRL stars Paul Mellor (sideline official) and Henry Perenara (referee) have joined the referee ranks in the Cronulla-Sutherland district. Picture: John Veage