Red turned ref likes Perth's NRL chances
Former Western Reds half-back Matt Rodwell admits he was one of those annoying players who queried every decision.
These days he sees things very differently as an NRL video referee.
Rodwell, in his second season as an official, was in the video booth for Saturday night's clash between South Sydney and the New Zealand Warriors at nib Stadium where he had to decide on a couple of close calls.
"I was one of those half-backs who was continually in the referees' ear questioning decisions," Rodwell said.
"I understand the frustrations and emotions of players on the field, but having mixed with referees, now understand the pressures and how they handle them."
Rodwell was last at the ground 17 years ago as part of a Perth Reds side that scored a 34-6 Super League victory over Canterbury.
"I remember that day, Julian (O'Neill) scored four tries and there was a great crowd considering the facilities weren't great back then," Rodwell said.
Rodwell, who played through the Super League war and the Reds' demise, believes Perth deserves a new NRL side.
"Perth is ready for it. They can handle it, there is still a vibe," he said. "The one thing that annoys me and gets me really fired up is when people suggest that the Reds was a failure. It wasn't.
"We had good home crowds despite playing at the WACA which was not a great ground to watch rugby league and whilst our success was mixed, we had a strong core following and that would have grown had we continued.
"All the players loved the place and were disappointed that we had to go. We had a pretty good first year, the next couple of years were a bit dry, but it was a very volatile, tumultuous time in the game.
"We never got off the ground initially in '96, we went into Super League, there were injunctions and there was the turmoil behind the scenes.
"Anything that could have gone wrong did go wrong."
The Rabbitohs showed their fighting qualities on Saturday night, coming from behind to win 34-18 in front of a record 20,267 people - the biggest crowd since the venue was made rectangular.
WA Rugby League chief executive John Sackson said it was a boost for the game in Perth.
"That is a reward for the hard work and investment by the WARL, the Rabbitohs and all involved," he said.
