FORMER Super League referee Ben Thaler has named the world’s best rugby league referee.
With over three decades’ worth of experience and almost 450 Super League games under his belt, Thaler hung up his whistle at the end of the 2024 season.
So throughout his career, Thaler worked alongside some top referees, but it is one name that stands out: Ashley Klein.
With almost 200 NRL games to his name – as well as 150 in Super League – Klein was the man-in-the-middle for the 2018, 2022 and 2024 NRL Grand Finals.
But, his career started in the UK’s second division – and Thaler holds the Australian in high regard.
“Ashley has proven that he is a top referee over there and he is the best referee I’ve ever worked with including Stuart Cummins,” Thaler told the League Express podcast.
“I think he’s the number one referee in the world and has been for a very long time. That might have been due to his personality or mannerisms.
“In the early 2000s when he broke through over here, we were used to the great John Holdsworth and then we had Russell Smith and Stuart Cummins five to ten years before.
“Then Ashley comes along, young and Australian. He was very confident but if you watch the games back he very rarely made a mistake.
“He was straight down the middle, technically he was a great referee and dealt with stuff on the field and the big decisions.
“He wasn’t scared about lifting his head above the parapet and making the big decisions.”
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