QLD Premier Rugby 2025

[PhilClinton]

Honest question, would Sean Graham be interested? Nudgee Director of Rugby is one of the better rugby gigs in Australia short of working for a Super Rugby franchise or the Wallabies.

Yeh mate it's a fair question. I know Sean quite well and he loves his job but he also loves a challenge. I think the biggest hurdle would be the cash.

Nudgee would have him tied up on some good coin and I doubt GPS would be able to match it or come close honestly.

I've also heard the Phins have made it clear to Nudgee brass that they like Sean and are keen to ensure he stays at the school long term (i.e. they'll throw some coin into his package if needed). He had a big hand to play with Robert Toia's development whilst he was at the school and look what happened there. I think the leaguies reckon his temperament and personality are a good fit and positive role model for some of the blokes they'll be filtering through.

In short - I think it's a very long shot we see Sean head to GPS in the next 5-10 years but who knows.

 

[The not so fast prop]

Agree!

Plus, I reckon the quality of premier grade refereeing has improved across the board over the last few years. Still can get better of course, but so can the players.

Individual decisions here and there are questionable at every level of the game, but I think it has become a lot rarer to have bad refereeing performances over whole games.

There’s no doubt we’ve got some talented young referees coming through in QPR—guys like Pook, Marshall, and a few others really stand out. But the reality is, the overall standard of refereeing in the lower grades is poor. I’ve watched a few games recently, and honestly, the standard is extremely poor— It’s not even enjoyable to watch, let alone fork out $500–$600 a season just to end up frustrated because some bloke with a whistle thinks he’s the most important person on the field. That’s not what community rugby is meant to be about.
The old boys’ club is still alive and well. Some good young referees get crucified for minor mistakes, while a few older or ‘protected’ refs keep getting appointed week after week—even in games where they’re clearly out of their depth.
And before anyone comes at me for saying this—I’ve been a ref myself. I did it for a few years, but I walked away from it in Brisbane because of exactly this kind of stuff.
If players, coaches, and volunteers are held to account, then referees should be too. It’s part of being involved in the game. What’s frustrating is seeing some officials repeatedly handed games they’re not up to, while younger refs with real potential are overlooked—either because they’re seen as too “green” or because they’re not part of the inner circle. That’s not how you build quality pool of referees.
There’s this strange ideology floating around that referees are somehow above criticism—that we should never question their performance. But why? Every other part of the game is open to feedback, review, and improvement. Referees shouldn’t be exempt from that. Honest critique isn’t abuse—it’s how the game gets better and more enjoyable for everyone including the referees