Phil Horwell has been a referee in more than 2000 games across five different decades and is now a Wagga Touch Association Life Member. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Phil Horwell has clocked up some impressive milestones in his 40-plus years touch football career, but none more so than gaining his National Referees’ Badge at the age of 73.
The Wagga man’s long service to the sport was recently recognised when he was named Wagga Touch Association’s newest Life Member.
Along his journey, which includes officiating at more than 2000 games, he has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in rugby league.
“Originally, my background was rugby league,” he said.
“I was never going to go pro or anything like that, but I was playing first grade. I played in a team with Australian fullback Graham Eadie and John Monie, who went on to coach Parramatta.
“I was playing with some incredible players, three went on to become NRL coaches. So when I moved to Wagga, touch was just starting, so it was just a natural movement onto that.
Phil refereeing a game in the 1980s. Photo: Supplied.
“I was working at the railway station at the time, and a bunch of the guys decided to make a team. We actually went alright and won a few competitions.
“I played for a couple of seasons and then I decided to referee. I was quite fit and healthy and within a couple of years, I was able to get my State Badge.”
Touch Football Australia categorises its referees in six different levels across four badges. Level 1 fits into the Affiliate Badge, which allows referees to adjudicate local competitions; Level 2 and 3 into the Representative Badge, allowing for referees to adjudicate representative games, such as Riverina vs Albury; Level 4 and 5 fit into the State Badge allowing for referees to judge State Level competitions and finally Level 6, which awards the referee with their National Badge.
For 40 years, Phil piled thousands of games under his belt, travelling across the country to referee countless carnivals and even more local games in Wagga.
While proud of the achievements he accomplished over his decades-long commitment to the sport, there was still one more thing left for Phil to achieve: obtain his National Badge.
Turns out, for Phil, the ripe old age of 73 was the time to do it, becoming the oldest referee ever to accomplish the feat.
“I had a bit of a break during my late 30s and 40s to look after my young family and some health-related stuff, but I came back about 15 years ago,” he said.
“After a couple of years, I went to a country championships carnival and a guy came up to me and asked if I’d ever thought about getting a higher badge.
“I got a lot of support from Bernard Nix, who was a level 6 referee who had been to World Cups. He supported me over what ended up being a several-year period starting in 2022.
“It took me a couple of attempts to get it. The first time was unsuccessful, but sure enough Bernie was there, ringing me, telling me not to feel down about it and to keep going.
“I tried again in 2024, and I got it. Bernie was just as overjoyed as I was. Bernie was on a bit of a break at the time, but he’s refereeing again and we worked together just the other night.”
Phil was presented with his Life Membership by fellow Wagga Touch Association Life Member & Tournaments Director David Baggio. Photo: Supplied.
Fast forward to August 2025 on a cold Friday during a meet at the Wagga Touch Association and it was Bernie who would once again surprise Phil with some good news.
“After doing that last year, getting my national badge, I was nominated this year for life membership,” he said.
“When I looked at the honour board, there were some very, very incredible people who have received this award. So I don’t take it lightly.
“It’s been a combination of things that I think led to the nomination, including refereeing and representing Wagga Wagga, which I think is so important.”
This year Phil was also appointed Director of Referees for Wagga Touch, a role that he said kept him passionate about the sport.
“What I’m doing at the moment is trying to get younger referees who are interested and trying to guide them through the ranks,” he said.
“In this new role, I’ll be working with these kids and hopefully guiding them through the junior comps that run from September and December, working with them to grow more confident and improve so by the time the Junior State Cup comes around in February, they are ready to go.”
Phil can still be found refereeing games several nights a week and is always up for a chat.
