Young 17-year-old Ryan Sweeney from Narooma refereed his first A-grade match last weekend.
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The Year 12 student at Narooma High School oversaw a close-fought match between the Bay Tigers and Moruya Sharks with Sharks winning 32-22.
Sweeney will be action again this weekend, refereeing the first grade match between Batemans Bay and Cooma on Sunday in the Bay, while on Saturday he will ref the Under 14s and Under 16 matches at Narooma.
In the last two years, he has been the Number 1 Ladies League Tag referee in country NSW and so the call was made to send him up to First Grade.
Sweeney was selected to referee the final of girls league tag in Camden in 2016 for the CRL championships, where he impressed referee officials who then put him through his Level 2 certificate.
Group 16 Referees Association secretary Norm Ingersole congratulated Sweeney on behalf of all the referees and administrators.