League: Perenara's decision to be ref 'best move' of his life

Henry Perenara doesn't put it this way, but the drift is clear. All but one of the important people in his life thought he was mad, quitting a top-drawer league career at 27 to become a referee.
The Aucklander, a loose forward who played one test for the Kiwis against France, was still supposedly in the middle of a career that had notched up 70-odd NRL games for clubs including the Warriors and Melbourne. Only his wife, Tina, believed blowing time to take up the whistle was a great idea. Even Henry doubted the wisdom.
Six years on, it's the "best move" he ever made. The 32-year-old is a regular NRL referee, has cracked the test ranks, and was a video official for the opening State of Origin clash. Perenara, who lives in Cronulla, talks to the Weekend Herald.
Q: So where did this referee business start?
The NRL wanted ex-players involved ... I'd already applied for a job as a league development officer in west Sydney. I'd had two shoulder reconstructions, an ankle done, could hardly pick my 2-year-old up after a game of footy.

I thought I was going to a question-and-answer session about being a referee but it was a full-on interview with (top NRL officials) David Gallop, Graham Annesley, Robert Finch, Michael Buettner, Steve Clark ... I couldn't believe it. Afterwards they said "congratulations". They gave me two days to think about it. I thought geez ... I was contracted at Cronulla and my dad (Auckland league identity Bernie Perenara) thought I was quitting in my prime. Tina said it was a great opportunity. I bit the bullet and went for it.
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