Community Match Official of the Year: Heath Zygnerski

Gold Coast Rugby League Referees Association secretary Heath Zygnerski says he's just a mouthpiece for an amazing team in a golden era of rugby league.

The humble winner of the Community Match Official of the Year award has played not only a major role as a committee man, but fostering an environment for young officials to succeed and leading by example on the field.

"We've got a pretty well-oiled machine down here, so I take the award as a bit of 'one for the team'," Zygnerski said.

"It's not necessarily about the secretary role, you just want to see the association succeed, you want to see all the officials succeed as well. Their success is our success."

On field, the success is seen in the development of young referees such as Tori Wilkie, Izzy Davidson, Adam Rossiter and Dylan Lawrence, but also seeing the continued excellence of the likes of Jarrod Cole and Daniel Schwass.

Off-field success is making sure every member feels supported. 

"It's definitely about making sure they come back, making sure they have a good time," Zygnerski said.

"We try to make it a family atmosphere. When you get the referees who come back, or they're the ones at the ground coming up to you and saying g'day - we gauge our success on creating those friendships, and the successes of our younger referees at moment is absolutely outstanding, so that's a reward in itself really."

Personally, Zygnerski said being a match official was his mental release, while being part of the community, particularly in a volunteer role, had allowed him to learn new skills and make lifelong friends.

"When you're out on the field, your brain gets a rest, as funny as that sounds. You concentrate on the game, you forget about all you have going on at home, any stresses," he said.

Prior to taking on the secretary role, Zygnerski helped bring referees through at club side Currumbin Eagles, part of his 20-plus year involvement in the game.