The first NSWRL High Performance official to make his NRL debut in 2024, Clayton Wills, had the experience of a lifetime.
Wills ran the touchline before a heaving 16,000-strong parochial crowd at Leichhardt Oval to see the Wests Tigers over-run the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 32-6.
He became NRL Referee #167 in doing so after being on the NRL’s radar for a couple of years.
Wills, originally from the Central Coast, was graded by NSWRL Referees in 2017 and is no stranger to big games having refereed the 2023 Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup Grand Final.
“It’s a just reward for another official of our squad, who really puts his head down and does the hard work,” NSWRL Referees High Performance Manager, Stuart Raper.
“He’s been very diligent regarding his training and preparation for games and does all the extras to get himself in this position.
“He’s been on the training camp with the NRL Referees this year and last year so they have been looking at him for a while, and working with him.
“He’s also done a number of scrimmages for NRL teams as part of their pre-season and in-season training.
“So he was well prepared going into the Wests Tigers-Sharks game.”
Raper said an injury in the NRL Referees squad forced General Manager Elite Officiating Jared Maxwell to reach out to NSWRL to see if Wills was ready.
“We were 100 per cent supportive of Clayton getting the call-up,” Raper said.
(Photo above: Bryden Sharp, NSWRL)
