The 25 officials who will make up the National Leagues Referee Panel for 2022 have been announced, including two new referees, Danielle Kooge and Jacob Cromb.
Each year the Referee Leadership Group, formerly known as the National Referee Appointments and Development Committee, announces those selected for the National Leagues Referee Panel; these referees officiate all games in the men’s and women’s NBL competitions.
Officials are split into four levels, based on both their experience and performance in previous seasons. In addition to the new referees, three referees have been promoted from Level 4 to Level 3: Reagan Ashley, Mikey Graham and Corey Hogg.
Long-serving referee Sean Cronin has retired from the NBL, bringing to a close an impressive career. Since refereeing his first game in 1989 – between Wellington and Canterbury - Cronin has gone on to officiate 261 games across five decades, the only Kiwi official to ever do so.
National Referee Instructor and Chair of the NRADC, Peter Rodgers acknowledged Cronin’s contribution to the league.
“There’s no doubt that Sean has made a significant contribution to refereeing in New Zealand over many years and we thank him for his service to the league,” says Rodgers.
Rodgers believes that the promotion of young referees on the panel, shows the benefits of Basketball New Zealand’s continued investment in vital training and pathways for young and aspiring officials.
“It’s great to see our referees continuing to develop their skills and gain experience as they come through the age-group tournaments and earn their place on the national leagues panel.”
2022 National Leagues Referee Panel
Level 1
Matt Bathurst
Tim Brown
Marty Davison
Ryan Jones
Melony O’Connor
Dallas Pickering
Level 2
Tayla Ammunson
Rhys Hamilton
Sherhon Martin
Sam Pan
Hayden Pipe
Callum Welch
Duran Whiu
Level 3
Reagan Ashley
Brad Clive
Hamish Dale
Corey Hogg
Mikey Graham
Level 4
Harry Apes
Aimee-Jo Clark
Liam Collins
Jacob Cromb
Shelton Harris
Danielle Kooge
Taylor Lynch
Sasha Nicholson
Toni Smith-Hunwick
