For a few years I was a referee of the great game of rugby league. I controlled junior league matches and ran the sidelines for senior games, and it was the most stressful job I've ever had in my short working career.

As an athlete and a sportsperson, I've been told to give it my best. As long as I have given the game everything that I could, and did my best, that was all that mattered. My team could have won 54-0, but if I didn't give it all of my effort, it wasn't the best game I could have played. Conversely, if my team got skinned but I did everything in my power, I had reason to hold my head up high, consoled by the fact that it just wasn't my day.

In all team sports, the referee can do their absolute best and make the decisions to the best of their abilities, and it still isn't enough.

But as a referee, I can do my best and make the decisions to the best of my abilities, and it still isn't enough. I remember looking out at the crowd of a junior league game and thinking that no matter what happens, no matter what the result, about half the crowd is going to resent me for doing my best, solely for the fact that my best wasn't what was best for their son's team.

That is the curse of the ref, or umpire, in any sport. The irony is that without them, there is no game. They are the most important, yet most underrated component of any organised sport. Without the officials, there is no sport. It is as simple as that.