FORMER NRL referee Bill Harrigan was in town again this week in preparation for the upcoming Oztag State Cup to be hosted here next year.
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Harrigan is now Oztag Australia’s tournament director and was in town to help attract sponsors, talk to council, and host a few refereeing clinics.
“I have had a few meetings with potential sponsors,” Harrigan said.
“The naming rights for the State Cup are still up for grabs but we are getting a lot of interest.”
A first for Tamworth Oztag will be the live streaming of the event online, as well as coverage on Fox Sports.
The main ground matches on the final day will be broadcast, as well as three Fox Sports spots booked in the weeks following the Cup.
“The sport is just getting stronger and stronger,” Harrigan said.
“Five Aussie teams have just returned from England and Wales so we are getting interest from over there as well.”
Harrigan still uses his expertise as a rugby league specialist commentator on Sydney’s Triple M.
“I comment on rules and refereeing decisions,” Harrigan said.
“I have had a lot to say recently.”
Following last weekend’s NRL round and a few controversial decisions, the former whistleblower couldn’t offer any tips for the big one.
Harrigan ran a junior referees’ clinic at the Tamworth Oztag fields on Thursday afternoon before running a senior referees’ forum at Wests on Thursday night.
The Tamworth Under 13 girls’ side was at the Thursday clinic as they await their first shot at a national title.
After both the U13s and 17s made semi-finals at the State Cup they were given the opportunity to compete in the first-ever Junior Nationals, to be held in Coffs Harbour next month.
The teams will be up against it after the state was split into regions for the event, with Tamworth falling in Northern NSW.
Tamworth junior Oztag president Katrina Davis said Tamworth was the only organisation in that region that had juniors whereas the other regions would have much larger pools to select from.
“We will still be competitive,” Davis said. “They are two very strong teams.
“It will be a good eye opener for some of them to see where the competition is at.”
The local junior season re-commences on October 9 with limited entries still available on the Tamworth Oztag website.
The Junior National Titles will be held in Coffs Harbour from October 17-19 while the NSW State Cup will be held in Tamworth in March next year.
