Morel: ‘The opportunities officiating has given me have been endless’

Queensland Rugby League High Performance Unit match official Nick Morel has hung up his flag after nearly 25 years of officiating.

Morel has lived and breathed rugby league, game days and training for the majority of his life and finished his on-field journey with the Hostplus Cup grand final.

There have been many highs along the way including officiating in Johnathan Thurston’s final game, hitting 100 games in the NRL and making lifelong friends.

There have also been many lows including rupturing both ankles, at different times, with lengthy stints on the sidelines.

The Steve Kanowski Touch Judge of the Year award winner – HPU match official #51 and NRL match official #114 – has refereed 72 Hostplus Cup games and touch judged 108 Cup games including the 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2024 grand finals.

He also refereed 43 and touch judged 25 National Youth Competition games between 2009 and 2016 and touch judged 116 NRL games.

An emotional Morel, 37, said it was time to embark on the next step in his rugby league journey, which included coaching junior match officials.

Where it all began

“For me it started when I was around 13… I finished playing at Souths Logan Magpies at Acacia Ridge… the kids were getting bigger and I wasn’t and I decided to take up refereeing,” Morel said, adding his younger brother Jordan Morel was playing there at the time so it was a nice way to stay involved.

From there, Morel did his referee course and as they say, the rest is history.

“It was a way to stay involved in the game and at the time, make $20 and get a free soft drink and burger from the canteen, and got to stay fit as well,” Morel said.

“I just enjoyed being around the game, being around football and being in that sporting environment. I’ve met a lot of friends through footy too.”

Morel said he loved the decision-making aspect of the role; and working in a high-pressure environment was what kept him coming back.

“I remember vividly I came off from a game with Souths Logan and there was this guy standing at the ref sheds,” Morel said, referring to long-time servant to the game and match official legend Eddie Ward.

“At the time I didn’t really understand who Eddie was, and then he explained to me the whole development program. At that point in time I hadn’t really thought about refereeing as a career.

"So then I went on that journey.  And when Eddie and Toppy (John Topp) started the High Performance Unit as it is now back in the day, I was in that squad from there and was still doing local footy then spent two or three years running Cup touch lines.

“Learnt my craft and built a bit of resilience… decided I wanted to be involved in the game and take it to the next level.”

The next level

Morel made his debut in Colts, refereed the Colts grand final in 2009 and from there A grade, where he experienced “a few ups and downs”, and then made his Cup - and NRL - debut in 2011.

“2011 was probably my biggest year," Morel said. 

The father-of-two's NRL debut came unexpectantly when he was in Townsville officiating under 20s and match official Chris James got sick, seeing Morel "debut in first grade out of the blue". 

"They told me at half-time (of the 20s game) not to work too hard because I would be debuting," Morel said.

“And then I went from the highs of highs to the lowest of lows because four nights later on the Thursday I ruptured my ankle and I was gone for nine months, so that was pretty hard to take. I thought I’d be back in four weeks but I ended up being out for nine months."

Upon his return, Morel officiated A grade, Cup and 20s, and got to go to Sydney to get exposure to the NRL match officials space through scholarships.

“Had a good year in 20s and on the Monday coming into semi-finals that year, I ruptured my other ankle. So I was then out for 12 weeks which ended my season prematurely that year as well," Morel said.

"Came back again… still enjoyed the game, still enjoyed the environment. Then in 2014 I was lucky enough to officially debut in first grade on a Monday night at the Gold Coast.

“Only did one, maybe two games, that year. And then World Cup year in Brisbane, 2017, that was where the pathway for me was… they said ‘we don't see you making first grade as a referee, but we see you making the touch judge path’. From there, never looked back.

“I just enjoyed being on the line. I had clarity and a position to take up the flag and I didn’t look back. Spent the next few years part-time with the NRL up until 2020, pre-COVID, and then back to the state squad from there. That’s how my journey has gone. Lots of ups and downs and now I’ve finished on 116 games in the NRL. Wrapped up.

“Biggest highlight unofficially would be my unofficial debut in Townsville… I was given my number for that game, that’s when I got my number of #114.

"My official debut in 2014 is the best because I got the phone call on the Monday… I debuted in 2011 and I got nothing after that… a three-year hiatus… then got the phone call from Tony Archer to say I was debuting (Gold Coast Titans versus Parramatta Eels) and I could live the hype for that week.… the hype of officially debuting with the embroidered jersey.

"Live the hype with family that week, the ultimate high. In that moment you know, you’ve made it, you’ve got the opportunity to actually make it to the highest level that you can make it, on the national stage in a sport we love.”

Morel, who works at Suncorp, said closely behind that would be his 100th game – Brisbane Broncos versus Newcastle Knights - after being so close to hitting pre-COVID and having to wait to hit the milestone.

“And JT’s last game at the Gold Coast… after the game, went up and shook his hand. Someone of that calibre, to be able to do his last game, was pretty cool,” Morel said. 

Most influential

For Morel, the most influential people for him have been Ward and the late, great Topp, who suddenly passed away earlier this year, devastating everyone who knew him, including Morel.

“For Eddie to come to me when he did and Toppy through all those years… my wife Alanna and I wouldn’t be together if it wasn’t for Toppy,” Morel said, adding Topp introduced the two when he saw how suited they were.

“Eddie just gave the confidence to be the best that we could be on the field. You never know with Eddie how good you’re going or how bad you’re going, he just always instilled confidence in us to go out there and do a job for him, for the game.

“Toppy was the person to help you become the person you are. The father figure, not only for me, but a lot of referees coming through. The father figure in football. When things were going on personally, you’d always go to Toppy first and ask for advice before you’d go to Eddie and make your decisions.

“Eddie just gave us that confidence and Toppy helped mould a lot of us into the people we are today around personal lives, around football, and stuff away from that.

“Definitely Eddie and Toppy have been the most influential over the years and then for the last three or four years, work has been pretty difficult for me with what it is, so definitely Sharpie and AW (QRL officiating high performance manager).

“They’ve probably had a lot of conversations with me that I needed to hear rather than what I wanted to hear. Which was good for me. But nothing can go past what Eddie and Toppy did for me.”

Reflection

The St Laurence’s old boy said officiating – a dream and passion he had and pursued during and since school - had provided him with so much.

“My wife, two boys, endless memories, a lot more good times than bad times, opportunities to do things I never thought I’d do like go to Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and other places in Australia I wouldn’t ordinarily go, my friendship group,” Morel listed. 

“The opportunities it has given me have been endless. Feeling good about my decision to hang up my flag. Very content with the decision that I’ve made.

“Round 1 next year when the appointments come out and my name isn’t on them as an on-field official… might feel a bit different, but I don’t think that’s going to change my decision.

 “I have a pathway now for me to move into coaching and do some development with the junior kids, and work with the first graders and Hostplus Cup referees, so I’ll take that. Definitely content with where I finished.

 “Still like the match day coaching, especially in Hostplus Cup and hopefully first grade. I still like the high-pressure environment, I still enjoy the game day experience and being in the locker room… being a match day coach you’re still live in the game and have to be ‘on’, in that high pressure environment, and I still enjoy analysing performances.

“With the junior rep program there’s a lot of good guys and girls coming through that hopefully I can help put through Cup through to first grade.”

Morel said finishing on a high with the Steve Kanowski Touch Judge of Year – voted by his peers – was humbling; especially getting the nod of touch judge of the year back-to-back.

“Definitely a good way to finish... to be recognised by your peers is something else,” Morel said.

“This year running a touch line with my brother Jordan in the middle and to run with him on the line, was definitely a good experience. I started when he was six or seven playing; I hope he makes it to first grade, I know he will… he just has to keep working hard and take his opportunities when they’re given.”

Morel added everything he achieved would not have been possible without his parents James and Cheryl, step mum Wendy, nan, wife Alanna, and sons Ryder, 5, and Myles, 3.

“I owe a lot to all of them for running me around and also allowing me the time to do what I have done, to be away from home and do what I enjoy,” Morel said.