Football Federation SA (FFSA) match official Daniel Cook will referee his first National Premier Leagues (NPL) Grand Final on Saturday when Campbelltown City meet Adelaide City at Coopers Stadium.
Cook, who also refereed the 2018 FFA Cup South Australian Preliminary Rounds Final in June, has performed exceptionally in his 23 senior men’s appointments during the 2018 season. He will be joined by Assistant Referees Samuel Kuys and Aaron Galanti, with Gary Mooney as Fourth Official.
FFSA are also pleased to announce that, for the first time, ‘shadow referees’ will be joining the match officials on each of the Senior Grand Finals on Saturday. The four shadow referees have been selected from the group of young, up and coming match officials to give them an experience of what Grand Final day at Hindmarsh is all about.
The shadow referee will essentially be an additional team member for the referees during the week and will be involved in pre-match duties with the referee team on the field and in the change rooms. This includes the pitch inspection, pre-match discussions and warm ups with the refereeing team.
2018 Best First Year Junior Referee Jayden Betterman has been selected as the shadow referee for the Men’s NPL match. He will have a front-row seat to the action unfolding before and during the match, as well as being involved in the post-match debriefing with the match officials team and the match assessor.
The Women’s NPL Grand Final between traditional rivals Adelaide City and Metro United will be refereed by Daniel Bryant. Like Cook, this will be Bryant’s second appointment at Coopers Stadium for the 2018 season, having officiated the 2018 Reserves Federation Cup Final in June. He will be assisted by Paula Orlandi and Tessa Quinn, with Andrew Kite the Fourth Official.
Adelaide Blue Eagles v Raiders will be officiated by David Alberton, who reached the 100 NPL game milestone earlier this season. “Both teams have been the best two sides in State League 1 this year, and are worthy finalists,” Alberton said. “I am sure they both will want to showcase what they have to offer in the NPL next year.”
The State League 2 Grand Final will be refereed by Jonathan Hunter. Hunter, who was awarded “Most Improved Level 2 Referee” by FFSA Elite Coach Paul Cetrangolo, will make his first appearance as a referee at Hindmarsh on Saturday.
2018 National Premier League SA Grand Final
Referee: Daniel Cook
Assistant Referee 1: Samuel Kuys
Assistant Referee 2: Aaron Galanti
Fourth Official: Gary Mooney
Match Assessor: Nathan Magill
Shadow Referee: Jayden Betterman
2018 Women’s National Premier League SA Grand Final
Referee: Daniel Bryant
Assistant Referee 1: Paula Orlandi
Assistant Referee 2: Tessa Quinn
Fourth Official: Andrew Kite
Match Assessor: Andrew Murray
Shadow Referee: Catherine Goddard
2018 State League 1 Grand Final
Referee: David Alberton
Assistant Referee 1: Nick Elagin
Assistant Referee 2: Drew Faulkner
Fourth Official: Christian Verdicchio
Match Assessor: Daniel Goodwin
Shadow Referee: William Heinrich
2018 State League 2 Grand Final
Referee: Jonathan Hunter
Assistant Referee 1: Henry Day
Assistant Referee 2: Jack Robinson
Fourth Official: Curtis Wordsworth
Match Assessor: Shaun Needs
Shadow Referee: Ethan Menadue
2018 Referee Awards
Most Improved Level 2 Referee: Jonathan Hunter
Most Improved Level 3 Referee: Torin Cooper
Best First Year Referee: Jayden Betterman
Community Referee of the Year: Arseniye Somuncic
2018 Grand Final Referee Appointments, Seniors, Reserves and Under 18's