'The right time': Ben Thaler opens up on injuries as he reflects on refereeing career

Few professions are subject to the same level of scrutiny and vitriol faced by officials on a weekly basis.

If respect on social media is in short supply, praise for referees is rarer still.

It was telling, then, that the reaction to Ben Thaler's retirement announcement was overwhelmingly positive – and not because fans were happy that he would no longer be refereeing their team.

The Normanton native was hailed as the best referee of the Super League era by many, including Leeds Rhinos legend Barrie McDermott who described Thaler as an official that "understood the game, not just the rules".

Once he hangs up his whistle and slips into a new role with the Rugby Football League in the recruitment and development of match officials, Thaler will miss the camaraderie with players that marked him out as one of the leading referees of his time.

"I like communicating and I like talking," Thaler told The Yorkshire Post.

"I'll miss the buzz and the relationships you create with players and teams to manage a game.

"I've had some really nice comments from current and former Super League players and internationals since it's been announced. It's quite humbling when players say they really enjoyed playing in games that I refereed because they knew where they stood and that I tried my best to get the game flowing and tipped them off for things.

"That's something I've always tried to do. I think the best referees are the ones who can manage a game, players and incidents with consistency."

Thaler's approach to refereeing was shaped by his father.

"My dad used to come to every Super League game that I refereed until he was ill just before Covid, no matter where it was," he added.

"He was a bit of a tough nut when he played amateur rugby league – he got sine die (banned indefinitely) twice.

"He always said the referees that he liked working with were the ones who communicated and spoke to them instead of just blowing the pea out of the whistle. He thought that if the referee told them twice and they were still doing it then penalise them.

"I don't know a referee who would want to go out there and give 20-odd penalties; you want to work with the players because if you communicate with them, it gets the game going and there's mutual respect.

"People might think I'm a bit hard-faced but some of the messages have brought a tear to my eye."

Thaler has taken charge of more than 700 senior matches since his first-grade debut in 2001, including 441 at Super League level.

In the end, time caught up with the 43-year-old.

"All good things have to come to an end," said Thaler.

"It's nice that I can go out on my terms. My head would say carry on for a couple more years but my back, legs and feet are saying otherwise.

"I got injured at the end of 2021 and then I was injured at the start of last year but I was quite lucky that treatment and acupuncture every week sorted my back out.

"I got fit and back into Super League but then I snapped the plantar fasciitis in my foot in June.

"The fact I'm back now is a bit of a miracle but I'm struggling with turning and stopping and starting, so do I want to carry on and be a has-been or go out while people still want you?"

Thaler will not be lost to the sport after taking a job that will allow him to share his vast experience with future generations of match officials while keeping his hand in with stints as a video referee.

As tempting as it was to keep going, the offer of a new challenge was one Thaler could not refuse.

"I had a conversation with Phil (Bentham, head of match officials) and he said they would be more than happy for me to carry on refereeing if I wanted to," added Thaler.

"But if this doesn't heal properly in my foot, I could miss out on a big opportunity because they've created a new role while restructuring the department with me in mind.

"The opportunity was too good to turn down. I always wanted to go out at the top as well and while I'm still up for games. It is the right time."

Thaler will blow the whistle on his refereeing career after Sunday's Championship fixture between Wakefield Trinity and Doncaster at Belle Vue.

It has the feel of a fitting farewell for a referee who graduated from the Wakefield Society but home for Thaler has been out in the middle regardless of location.

"There have been far better referees than me but I've tried hard to work on my game and make sure that I've been consistent as long as I could instead of carrying on," he said.

"It is nice to be able to go out at Wakefield. They've done really well and it's a nice ground – but I would have been happy to retire anywhere, whether that be Barrow, Workington or Hunslet.

"I'm just pleased I've been able to spend 24 seasons doing something I never thought I'd do when I started 30 years ago."