Adam Gee will referee his first NRL Grand Final on Sunday after his two main rivals fell by the wayside due to costly errors.
Gee was given the gig on Tuesday after rising to the top of the NRL’s pecking order when Ashley Klein made two glaring errors – missing a high shot and an obvious knock-on – in Melbourne’s semi-final win over the Roosters to get dropped for last weekend’s preliminary finals.
Gerard Sutton allowed a blatant forward pass in Brisbane’s win over the Warriors on Saturday while Gee maintained his impressive form from the regular season throughout the finals series to land the coveted gig.
Klein will be the bunker review official in the Grand Final.
The NRL also announced Belinda Sharpe will referee the NRLW decider between Newcastle and Gold Coast with Kasey Badger reviewing from the bunker.
Adam Gee. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
NRL general manager Graham Annesley said Gee “thoroughly deserves his appointment”.
“He has been a standout match official this season and been incredibly consistent in 2023. Adam has refereed 236 matches and his calm demeanour and strong work ethic are testament to that experience.
“We’re in the fortunate position to have a number of referees who have the ability to officiate the Grand Final but it’s a competitive process and Adam is the best referee for the job based on performances this year and throughout the finals series.”
The match officials for the NRL Grand Final are:
Referee: Adam Gee
Review Official: Ashley Klein
Touch Judges: Chris Sutton and David Munro
Standby Referee: Grant Atkins
Standby Touch Judge: Drew Oultram
The match officials for the NRLW Grand Final are:
Referee: Belinda Sharpe
Review Official: Kasey Badger
Touch Judges: Rochelle Tamarua and Mitch Currie
Standby Official: Daniel Luttringer
The match officials for the NRL State Championship Grand Final are:
Referee: Wyatt Raymond
Review Official: Chris Butler
Touch Judges: Tyson Brough and Cameron Paddy
Standby Official: Kieren Irons
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Thank you for confirming what I said.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Bubble Boy.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Everything you're saying is a lie. I'm sure that you have never referred a sporting event in your life, not even filling in for your kid's team, because if you had, you'd recognize the impossibly of being 100% accurate on the fly (while running around rather than viewing in a stationary position) where numerous scenarios are open to interpretation. Honestly, if you think there's fixing going on, how do you even watch it? Do you just treat it like the WWE? I know I couldn't watch a sport if I believe that the results were being intentionally manipulated, because that's no longer even sport.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
My response to Ed just vanished into thin air.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Ed, Kleins council would retract pretty quickly after watching countless head scratching hours of games and results the he has manipulated. I'm pretty sure the Warriors owner would be more than happy to contribute towards an investigation into potential match fixing. Cummins was bent! You watch him now bung on the good old PTSD and milk the NRL for more money.
mushi
Roar Guru
Klein can sue the roar for it now.
mushi
Roar Guru
Utter bull dust.
Ed Flanders
Roar Rookie
You're lucky you are an anonymous poser here...and that Klein doesn't read this. If I was him, I'd be suing you for a retraction unless you can prove the claim of cheating.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Hi Ben, some humans just can’t help themselves when it comes to money. Where there is money to be made there is always a small element that will be tempted and do the wrong thing. Politicians, members of the police force, local council and even family stealing from family. It’s human nature! I’ve watch enough footy to know when something is on the nose. Perhaps it’s just cognitive bias but when you have a major betting company affiliated with the NRL then anything is possible. Most refs are honest hard working people who love the game. Some can not help themselves and are bent!
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
How does a referee chèat? They can't win the game.
Ben Lewis
Roar Pro
Congratulations to a fantastic referee on a well deserved appointment. The opportunity to referee in his first ever grand final is a just reward for a terrific career thus far. I hope Adam runs well, enjoys the experience, and does a phenomenal job! He's been the best referee this year and it's good to see his form and performances rewarded with the ultimate appointment. My heart goes out to Grant Atkins though - while he was destined to miss the last three weeks of the season after the unfortunate 8-tackle set, I think he's been hard done by to miss the Bunker appointment. As a referee he's definitely one of the best and I hope he too gets the chance to ref a grand final before his time is up.
Nat
Roar Guru
Good appointment. Klein and Sutton are game managers. Hopefully these two teams are good enough to make the ref un-noticed.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Great move. Klein is either a ch eat or totally incompetent