Rugby League World Cup to have first female official as Belinda Sleeman included in 26-strong list
The Australian was the first women to officiate in a Test match as a touch judge and has now been included for the biggest tournament in the sport
RUGBY LEAGUE is set to appoint it's first female match official for the World Cup after Belinda Sleeman was included in the 26-strong list of officials.
Sleeman was the first women to officiate in a Test match between Fiji and Tonga as a touch judge.
And she made history along with Kasey Badger as the first female officials appointed to a rugby league finals match between Manly and Penrith.
James Child, who refereed his first Super League Grand Final on Saturday, will also be officiating at the World Cup, along with video referee Phil Bentham and touch judges Mark Craven and Chris Kendall.
Chosen by head of officiating Tony Archer and the Rugby Football League's Steve Ganson, the squad is drawn entirely from the NRL and Super League for the first time.
The RFL representatives also include Ben Thaler, Robert Hicks, Scott Mikalauskas and Liam Moore, as well as former Super League officials Tim Roby and Ashley Klein, who now referee in the NRL.
The officials will be based in Brisbane throughout the tournament, which begins in Melbourne on October 27 when Australia play England.
And they will have their own performance manager, a physiotherapist, a logistics and operations manager and three coaches - Ganson, Australia's former Super League referee Russell Smith and New Zealand's Luke Watts.
Archer said: "This is an historical tournament in which all match officials qualified by officiating in either the NRL or Super League competitions.
"We have the Grand Final officials from each competition and there is a wealth of international and representative depth in the squad.";
Most read in rugby league
Archer, who said performances during the tournament would determine the appointment for the final in Brisbane on December 2, confirmed that international rules would be used.
That means one referee, as opposed to two in the NRL, and an in-goal video referral system to replace the Australian bunker.
There will also be no shot clock for scrums and goal-line drop-outs but there will be a seventh tackle from the 20-metre re-start if the ball is kicked dead and a tap re-start from a 40-20 kick.
Golden point will only be used in finals matches.
