James Child

[Red Willow]

James Child: Rugby league referee to stand down - BBC Sport

Good luck to him in his future career. Found he annoying as a ref at various stages but we need more people to become refs.

[Chris22]

I believe that is 19 officials at the professional and semi-professional level who have left since Steve Ganson has been in charge of the RFL referees department now (two having returned).

The referee pool is shrinking and that's bad news for the sport.

[Ragingbull]

Good riddance to bad rubbish. 

[Mr Frisky]

Just now, Ragingbull said:

Good riddance to bad rubbish. 

Feel free to have a go as a Ref mate. You can spend your weekends travelling all over the country to be abused from the sidelines by one man and his dog- then if you can handle that progress to SL and get abused by thousands- and no dogs. 

Let me know when its your first game and I'll come and support you as no one should recive abuse for reffing a game of RL. Good luck to the lad.

[ELBOWSEYE]

As with all referees they get stick but without them there's no game and if fans ever looked at games from a neutral point of view they would see they make far less mistakes than players. 

[Jughead]

Like players I’ve watched, his form has dipped and risen throughout his time as a ref but he’s refereed some massive games and deserves the recognition he’ll get as he’s been a mainstay of the sport for what feels like 10-15 years. 

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, Mr Frisky said:

Feel free to have a go as a Ref mate. You can spend your weekends travelling all over the country to be abused from the sidelines by one man and his dog- then if you can handle that progress to SL and get abused by thousands- and no dogs. 

Let me know when its your first game and I'll come and support you as no one should recive abuse for reffing a game of RL. Good luck to the lad.

Yep, it’s hard to even get a ref for games outside the heartlands. No surprise when you have to go to the M62 to even do the course. 

[DoubleD]

I generally found him to be a bit pedantic as a ref, which often disrupted the flow of the game. However, he was fair and consistent in how he reffed - the same rules applied to both sides, which is all you can ask from a ref. He perhaps didn't have the aura/stature on the pitch to maintain control of games that became heated.................however, my view is that it's the players responsibility to control their own actions and therefore this isn't really a fault of the ref. Players should also learn to adapt their game when Child was reffing - you know you cannot get away with some things you do with other refs, as he's very much by the book - so don't push the boundaries.

He certainly got a lot of unfair criticism from fans, and whilst he probably won't be missed by many, I think he was generally a good ref and hope he stays involved in the game in some capacity

[The Ghost of 99]

Whatever his good and bad points, losing another very experienced referee is probably not a good sign for 2023.

Particularly as we need to have a much better year with refereeing and especially disciplinary than 2022 was (something which, based on the eye-watering public feedback, will be a much bigger focus for IMG than what to call the competition).

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

No love lost between him and Wakefield fans. 

He's leaving to concentrate on his Chartered Surveyor career in the construction industry.  Hopefully it's too late for him to put a spanner in the works currently going on at Belle Vue. 

[silverback]

Come back silverwood. childs failed many times to let the game flow. its all about the game NOT the ref.

[Tommygilf]

Not good to see an already shrinking pool shrink further. 

[Midlands hobo]

Crusaders v cas the final game before the deportations if I remember he ran off at half time with cru up a didnt come out in the second due to a leg injury. Cru lost.

[Northern Eel]

Those celebrating his departure will be the first to lament the subsequently declining standards and will also be the last to read the rule book and get a whistle in their mouths. It’s been like that for years. 

[GUBRATS]

As someone who has reffed both football and RL and by general consensus was complete ' Gash ' at both it's a shame to lose another experienced ref , just like everybody he had good days at work and bad days , his bad days always seemed to coincide with losses for my team , and his good days when we won , strange that ?  

Interesting last night to hear the ' experts ' on BBCs coverage of the footy WC final extolling the virtues of having a ref that used to play football , but I doubt we'll see messrs Linaker,Ferdinand or that failed football manager Shearer giving up their highly paid ' punditry ' contracts where they get to talk complete BLX and blame everybody including refs for just about everything to take up the whistle 

Apologies to Mr Child's for all the times I gave you grief , best of luck in your future career , as long as you don't become an architect because they are all complete XXXXs that think they know everything

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

6 hours ago, Red Willow said:

James Child: Rugby league referee to stand down - BBC Sport

Good luck to him in his future career. Found he annoying as a ref at various stages but we need more people to become refs.

Good luck James 

Always thought he was a decent ref ....good communicator 

[Davo5]

Best of luck for the future,if only that clampet Gamson would follow you out the door.

[daz39]

Shame, another loss to the pool and a lovely guy too.

[Agbrigg]

4 hours ago, Wollo Wollo Wayoo said:

No love lost between him and Wakefield fans. 

He's leaving to concentrate on his Chartered Surveyor career in the construction industry.  Hopefully it's too late for him to put a spanner in the works currently going on at Belle Vue. 

At one time i would have agreed with you on this. However as the years passed , i thought he mellowed and improved over time.

However ! Jack Smith and Kendal , if those two retired that would be a great Christmas present. Infact after his showing as a touch judge, Smith needs the sack not retirement.

[Northern Eel]

10 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

At one time i would have agreed with you on this. However as the years passed , i thought he mellowed and improved over time.

However ! Jack Smith and Kendal , if those two retired that would be a great Christmas present. Infact after his showing as a touch judge, Smith needs the sack not retirement.

They shouldn’t be beyond appraisal, without doubt, but in the absence of any up and coming  youngsters to the roster, we need to be careful what we wish for 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Northern Eel

[Agbrigg]

7 hours ago, Chris22 said:

I believe that is 19 officials at the professional and semi-professional level who have left since Steve Ganson has been in charge of the RFL referees department now (two having returned).

The referee pool is shrinking and that's bad news for the sport.

Well if people are concerned about the numbers comming through, or those that give it a go and not developing. Perhaps the RFL need to start having a good look at the man at the top. From what I saw of the Aussie refs at the World Cup, their attitude and officiating style was like a breath of fresh air . They enhanced the game as opposed to many of our lot who seem to want to stiffle it .

[Padge]

Was he a good ref/bad ref--- no idea I watch the players not the ref. He never seemed to stop me doing that.

Shame an experienced ref is leaving before he should, wish him all the best for his future.

[Damien]

I do wonder how sustainable full time referees are and I don't mean financically but from an attracting the best talent point of view. He's not the first to give up to pursue his chosen career and won't be the last. Maybe a little more flexibility would make the role more attractive. 

[GUBRATS]

43 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

Well if people are concerned about the numbers comming through, or those that give it a go and not developing. Perhaps the RFL need to start having a good look at the man at the top. From what I saw of the Aussie refs at the World Cup, their attitude and officiating style was like a breath of fresh air . They enhanced the game as opposed to many of our lot who seem to want to stiffle it .

You mean they ignored the infringements ? 

[Agbrigg]

25 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

You mean they ignored the infringements ? 

No not at all, they interpreted the rules differently. It did not effect the result but provided the paying public a more enjoyable game.