RUGBY league referees in Barrow and the surrounding area will be among those benefitting from the advice of top official Gareth Hewer.

The Super League referee from Whitehaven has taken on the role of match official development officer in Cumbria and was in the town earlier this month to pass on some advice to the members of the Barrow & District Referees’ Society.

Hewer has been working closely with the society’s development officer Barry Hartle as well and has already seen many changes from when he first started out officiating, which included trips to places like Barrow Island and Askam.

“I spent a lot of time down in Barrow when I first set out in the National Conference League, and there was no system in place then,” said Hewer.

“There were no touch judges either, so you were on your own and you were on your own, so you had to correct your own mistakes and you were thrown in at the deep end.

“But with the system in place now, especially with Barry down here doing a great job, he can watch referees and point them in the right direction.

“It’s definitely worthwhile having some sort of development programme in place and help these lads get to where they want to get to, whether that’s Super League or just being better in the amateur game.”

Hewer has progressed to become one of the leading referees in the country, officiating the 2016 Challenge Cup final despite not being one of those employed full-time by the RFL.

He combines his officiating with managing an engineering team at the Magnox reprocessing facility at Sellafield, which includes having to attend regular review and training sessions in Leeds.

And he hopes his experiences and advice prove useful for referees in this area.

“The main thing is about encouragement and enjoyment,” said Hewer. “We get a lot of stick and a lot of abuse at the top, and the pressure is getting greater each year through the focus from the coaches and the review process.

“But if I can come down here and give the lads some of my experience I have picked up along the way, hopefully to encourage them and move along, then all the better.

“I try to pass on as much information from what I see in my games. The more we can pick up and pass on, the better for these lads.”