One of Tasmania's best young referees has moved to Melbourne to further his career

Photo:  Josh Berry has moved to Melbourne. [PlessPix] 

One of Tasmania’s up-and-coming referees, Josh Berry, 21, recently moved to Melbourne to enhance his refereeing career.

It’s definitely Tasmania’s loss and Victoria’s gai.

I spoke to Josh to ask him how it is going.

Walter Pless:  What took you to Melbourne?

Josh Berry:  I have always wanted to develop my refereeing and to experience the football quality and refereeing standards in another state. So, when I was given the opportunity to come to Melbourne to do that I couldn’t refuse it. Moving out of home to live somewhere else was also an exciting idea to me. Most of my mates from Tassie had already moved to Melbourne too for various other reasons, so being here with them and already knowing people made my decision and the move a lot easier

WP:   How is it going?

JB:  It's going well! I’m not going to lie, it took a few weeks to get used to Melbourne life, but I am enjoying it so far and have settled in nicely. It is a completely different experience refereeing here than it is in Tassie as I referee different teams each and every week including different leagues and skill levels all around the State.  Although it took me a while to get used to driving on the roads over here.  It's much busier than what Tassie is and takes me a lot longer to get anywhere.

WP:  What have you learned so far?

JB:  I've learned a lot, especially from other referees, and you pick things that you like and implement them into your own refereeing because every game is so different. Pre-match preparation and being more organised is important and I've taken that on board when looking into who I'm refereeing with, at what level, which teams and also how we as match officials can prepare the best we can. Player management and on-field decisions are a big thing too as players and especially coaches are, let’s say, quite a lot more vocal than at home, and ask lots and lots of questions during the game, and even afterward in the clubrooms when we get together after the game, but the experience of refereeing in a different competition has been really valuable for my development so far.

WP:  Is it more difficult refereeing in Victoria than in Tasmania?

JB: I would say, yes it is.  The quality of the football here and the games in general are more challenging to referee, and in every game in all leagues anyone can beat anyone on any day of the week whether they are first or last on the table. I think the leagues here are a lot more competitive, as everyone wants to be promoted and no one wants to be relegated.  Coaches and players are more challenging and difficult to deal with, which is something I've learned a lot from, too. The games are physically and mentally demanding at all levels, even in U23s. It's always more challenging for me too as I am not familiar with any team and each club I referee is completely new to me, and I don't know any players by name or the way teams like to play as I did in Tasmania which is something that I'm also enjoying.

WP:  Do you have a mentor to help you?

JB:  Not a mentor, but feedback is frequent as I’m required to attend development group sessions, practical sessions, and training. It's also good to see the A-League Men and Women referees up here who will referee in the NPL Men and Women competitions on weeks that they don't have games elsewhere, so there are always chances to interact with them and watch higher-level referees week in and week out to learn from and pick things from their game to implement into my own.

WP:  You won honours as a young up-and-coming referee in Tasmania. What were they?

JB:  I've been fortunate enough to win the 2021 Young Referee of the Year, 2022 Southern Championship Referee of the Year, and Under 21s Referee of the Year in 2023 and 2024.

Photo:  Josh Berry received one of his awards from Mary Collins at a Football Tasmania presentation night. [PlessPix]

WP:  Will you return to Tasmania?

JB:  I'll be back in the summer but have no plans or ideas on what will happen next season yet. My focus at the moment is on Nationals which is coming up in a few months and then just keeping on track for the rest of the season and hopefully getting some good appointments once finals come around later in the year. If I can progress up the leagues here too then that will be a huge bonus that I would be grateful for, but for now just taking it week by week and game by game.

WP:   From what you have experienced and learned in Victoria so far, what advice do you have for aspiring young referees in Tasmania?

JB: Referee because you enjoy doing it. My advice to anyone young and aspiring to be a referee is, if you truly enjoy being a referee and that love for the game and the role is visible to others, it makes everything that comes with refereeing a lot easier. There's no such thing as perfection in refereeing, and it's impossible to get absolutely everything right so self-reflect as much as you can and push yourself to learn more about the laws of the game. It is a lot of hard work and can take time but can very rewarding.