Consideration of the Hon. Treasurer’s Report and Balance Sheet

thereby develop their skills, in particular their control skills as they encounter players they have not refereed before. We were very fortunate that our referees were able to officiate in a number of grand finals in u15d2, u15d3, u17d1, u19d1 and A grade competitions where referees in the other associations did not have this opportunity. We must be aware though that pressure will be applied to share these appointments among the other associations. Our Committee will ensure we continue to be able to referee the best games available. Congratulations to Kevin Shanahan and the Junior League Board for a successful season and we look forward to maintaining an open dialogue on all issues pertinent to our game.

Season 2011 opened with a number of vacant positions on the Executive with the retirement of Mario Cafarelli as Hon. Secretary, Warren Gee as Assistant Secretary and Chris Cafarelli as Vice President. We were fortunate in that David Abood was re-elected as our Vice President after deciding not to contest the position in 2010. David’s experience has been invaluable on the Executive. George Elias was elected to the role of Hon. Secretary. While this position is a daunting role George has stepped into it with fervour as he has done his whole career in whatever task he is assigned. You cannot under estimate George’s resolve to the association and I’m sure he will continue to grow as a dedicated Secretary in the years ahead. Robert Dubois filled the shoes of Assistant Secretary and brought to the front table enhanced IT Skills and ensured that our website was maintained and informative to the members with quick news items, photos and the availability of the general meeting minutes.

Congratulations to our active members for their on-field achievements in 2011. In particular I would like to congratulate John Maarbani for achieving the association’s highest honour of the Clubb-Johnson trophy. John’s year long performance culminated in him refereeing the A grade Grand Final which is a testament to his perseverance over many years. There have been many disappointments and knock downs and at times he considered retirement, but he continued to get back up again and keep going. John had a 100% attendance at training and led by example. Even as an A grade referee he kept on asking questions of his peers and mentors to make each game as near perfect as possible. This is a shining example to every referee wanting to improve his or her game. Congratulations also to Phelix El-Kek for being awarded the Farrelly – Dick trophy by the Directors of Referees for being the most improved referee in 2011.

Our Graded referees were again well represented with their appointments this year. David Abood reached the Graded 250 game milestone during the season and was appointed to the finals of the NRL, Adam Gee made his debut in the NRL as a centre referee during the season and was appointed as stand-by referee to the Toyota Cup Grand Final. Most pleasing was the fact that a number of our referees went to Adam’s game to provide moral support and it shows the bond many referees share. Richard Daizli was again appointed to a Graded Grand Final in the NSW Cup with Jim Oliveira as the In-Goal Judge and Matt Damaso was appointed Touch Judge to the Grand Final of the Bundaberg Cup Grand Final.