NRL appoints first female referee for Broncos v Bulldogs clash

The NRL's first female referee said she will be proud if her historic appointment inspires future generations of officials as she prepares to smash rugby league's glass ceiling.

Belinda Sharpe will on Tuesday be confirmed as the first woman to take control of an NRL match, assigned as the assistant referee for Thursday night's Broncos and Bulldogs clash at Suncorp Stadium.

The Queensland-raised Sharpe and Kasey Badger were earlier this year elevated to the NRL's full-time referees squad, paving the way for the former to take the whistle in round 18.

She has been a constant as an NRL touch judge in recent times, as has Badger, but it won't be until this week that one of the pair has been given the task of refereeing an NRL fixture.

Rugby league officials have noticed a spike in the number of budding female rugby league referees at a grassroots level since Sharpe and Badger started patrolling the sideline in NRL games.

"If my role in just doing my job week in week out can inspire other people to become involved, particularly other females to become involved as referees, then that's something I'm proud of," said Sharpe, who refereed the women's State of Origin match at North Sydney Oval in June.

"I don't necessarily think I need to do anything differently, but if they can see an opportunity to get to this point with the same pathway as any other official then that's a positive.

"There's been some nice moments where I've met young girls at games and different places and they've said I've become involved because they've seen the opportunities available as a referee and I think that's a really positive thing.

"We're seeing more and more females becoming involved as referees at various levels of the game."

Sharpe, a former journalist and marketer, will referee alongside one of the NRL's most experienced whistleblowers, Ben Cummins, at Suncorp Stadium.

She admitted to being a touch surprised when told of her appointment this week and immediately rang husband Clayton, who has also been a member of the NRL officiating ranks.

"I was really excited and I guess a little bit surprised, but I'm certainly looking forward to Thursday night and am really thrilled to receive the news," Sharpe said.

"I've been on the pathway for quite a while now and I've certainly done the same work and been on the same pathway as every other official that has made it to this point. I'm certainly confident that's what [the appointment] is based on.

"I've been around a while now in first grade as a touch judge and I think most of the players are used to seeing me out there on the field. At the end of the day they just want you to do your job and if you do that well I don't think they care who it is."

Sharpe's milestone will come in the same week NRL head of football Graham Annesley claimed criticism of referees since the State of Origin decider had been "unwarranted", just a week after he conceded they made a number of "serious errors" in the fortnight prior.