CRL refs on the rise with NZRL Academy and NSWRL pathway support
Canterbury Rugby League has the highest representation of any region in the NZRL Referees Academy, which provides invaluable guidance, development and pathways opportunities for our game’s match officials.
CRL referees Jack Feavers, Luke Whittaker, Porfi Vivas, and Micah Lepou make up about half of the 2026 academy, who are selected to be involved in the NSWRL competitions – NSW Cup, Jersey Flegg (under-21s), SG Ball (under-19s) and Harold Matthews (under-17s) – as referees and touch judges.
On top of any NSWRL match duties and local Canterbury Rugby League appointments, the group meet online each week, where they review games and are provided access to New Zealand’s top referees.
“They can talk through what’s happening in their games and how we’d manage certain situations and that sort of thing,” says Feavers, one of New Zealand’s elite refs.
“For our Canterbury guys, they kind of already get that through me in a way, but they get access to a broader group of us.”
The academy members can also join the weekly NSWRL junior reps squad meetings, which are run by former NRL referee Gavin Badger. His wife, current NRL match official Kasey Badger, and experience NRL referee and touch judge Dave Munro are among the coaches.
Feavers is CRL’s senior referee coach, while local stalwart Daryl Mataiti is youth referee coach and Vivas is junior referee coach. They support referees through each stage of the development pathway.
“We’ve identified that if you can keep a referee for a season, you can keep them for 10, right? That’s what the data says,” Feavers explains.
“If we’re bringing these guys in, we’re making sure they’re supported initially by Po at a junior level. Through that, they’ve got access to the same coaching that we’re getting in many ways, so they’re in a more privileged position, if you like, than referees coming through elsewhere in the country, I’d say.
“As they progress into youth footy on the Monday to Wednesday nights, Daryl’s supporting that group, then I look after our senior guys that are doing the open-age stuff.”
Feavers, the 2024 NZRL Grassroots Match Official of the Year, has been a regular controlling Harold Matthews Cup, SG Ball Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup fixtures in recent seasons, as well as running the touchlines in NSW Cup and NRLW. He recently refereed the Warriors-Broncos NRLW trial in Christchurch – the historic first senior match at One New Zealand Stadium.
Vivas, Whittaker and Lepou are all quickly following in his footsteps. Vivas refereed his first Harold Matthews match this year and was a touch judge in the NRLW trial in Christchurch. Whittaker’s NSWRL junior reps debut was unfortunately scuppered by weather, with fog in Auckland preventing his flight from landing. Lepou welcomed a baby into the world during the NSWRL junior reps season, which limited his involvement, but he refereed Warriors pathways matches in Canterbury last month.
“I believe what we’ve got going in Canterbury at the moment is next level. I’ve never been so excited to be part of a referees group,” Feavers enthuses.
“It’s pushing me and motivating me to support these guys and to coach these guys, watching their journey and watching them learn. I’ve refereed all over the country, refereed in other districts, been based out of other districts. But I’ve never worked with such a talented group of referees.”
Like Vivas and Lepou, relative newcomer Whittaker’s rise has been incredibly rapid – controlling CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership matches in 2025, his first season with the whistle.
He credits the framework in Canterbury and New Zealand as having a major role to play in his rapid development.
“The pathway’s been unbelievable … I think it’s so beneficial for us new ones coming through,” Whittaker says.
“I’ve only been here for a year and a half, but I think the refereeing in New Zealand’s probably at the best that it’s ever been.
“With our pathways now, we can take that next step and keep learning – it’s pretty special and something that us boys are very thankful for.
“It’s great to be able to push one another to continue to improve, especially when you’re doing each other’s lines [as touch judges] and watching each other. It’s great to have three young referees progressing through those ranks and I think Canterbury Rugby League is probably in the best space it’s ever been for referees – and especially young referees coming through.”
“With Jack leading it and Daryl being there for a long time, then having three new, young and enthusiastic referees, it makes it so much easier for the refereeing standard to be higher.”
As well as the local and NZRL Academy support from Feavers, Mataiti and Auckland-based Paki Parkinson – a NSW Cup and NRLW referee, and an NRL touch judge – Whittaker noted the contribution of NZRL Referees Manager Alan Caddy and Canterbury’s Darryn Hopewell, a former World Cup referee, to his education.
“The guidance from Jack and Paki and all those blokes – it’s crazy what they do for us. Their knowledge and understanding of the game that they’ve been in for so long, it’s critical for us to learn off them.
“I’m very thankful for all the people that have helped me to get me where I am today, especially Alan Caddy, Jack and Paki, and to start off in Canterbury and have the likes of Daryl helping me and Darryn Hopewell, too.
“Darryn’s been massive towards me, especially in the early stages bringing me from basically doing an under-12s game to doing Premiers … having guys like that push me to that next level, it’s been amazing.
“I really love doing the 16s and 18s on a Monday night, they’re great kids and they just want to play footy.
“And then obviously on a Saturday you get the Premier guys, where they test you a little bit more and everything comes into perspective a little bit. I think it’s great for your all-round game when it comes to being a referee.”
