They might be the most powerful people on the paddock, but the referee is more often than not the object of derision for players and fans alike, at best a necessary evil.

But for Brian Smith, blowing the whistle is a passion.

And the Highlands’ top ref has just been promoted to the pinnacle of Touch refereeing, qualifying for his Level 6 at the recent national touch championships in Coffs Harbour.

“It’s hard to put into words how I feel about this,” he said.

“Unless you’re a referee you can’t really appreciate how big this is.

“Referees don’t get much credit but this is the highest level anywhere in the world.

“It takes more than just blowing the whistle on the paddock and it’s meant a lot of years of dedication.”

Now in his 18th year as a ref, the Bowral Touch president has worked hard to scale the heights of refereeing and has no regrets about the considerable time and money he has sacrificed to reach the top.

“It’s taken me 17 years and a lot of time and money to get here but it’s all worthwhile now,” he said.

“This is for Bowral Touch more than it is for me and I definitely couldn’t have done it without their support.

“I was never going to go to the top as a player and I had doubts for a while whether I would as a ref but I just persevered.”

Smith is just one of 24 Level 6 refs in Australia and had to undergo a rigorous screening process before he was elevated to the top spot.

And after going through an excruciating run of outs due to injury, Smith’s moment of truth came a fortnight ago at Coffs Harbour where he finished with top honours beating refs half his age.

“It just blew me away when I was told I got it,” he said.

“But in the end I don’t do it for myself, I do it for Bowral Touch and there’s other refs like Mick Hamilton and Fiona Murchie who could follow in my footsteps.

“If we didn’t have such a strong comp at Bowral I wouldn’t have been able to achieve these results and I just want to thank everyone involved in Bowral Touch.”