James O'Brien makes his debut refereeing in the Australian Water Polo League

The 22-year-old, who moved to Brisbane to pursue opportunities in the sport, was poolside for the men's and women's games between Drummoyne Devils and Hunter Hurricanes.

Having officiated since he was 11 years old, the former Sharks player is now one of 16 referees on the prestigious national panel.

"Refereeing in the National League was one of my biggest goals," O'Brien said.

"I didn't expect it come at this age, I thought I'd have to wait a little bit longer so to be 22 and debuting in the Australian National League is pretty special.

"It was great to have my Mum and Dad both there watching, supporting me as they have done for a number of years leading up to this big goal of mine that finally became a reality on the weekend.

"I felt very nervous, especially on the weekend.

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"I recently lost my grandfather, Garnett O'Connell, who was very involved in the sport and at one time, I was considering not doing it but I knew 'Pa' would want me to.

"I was nervous stepping onto the games, particularly the in first quarter of my debut game but once I settled into the game, I felt pretty confident and I got really good feedback from my delegates."

O'Brien, who moved interstate in December 2021, officiated alongside Tokyo Olympic referee John Waldow at a regional competition in New Zealand last year.

He's been mentored by the highly-regarded Nicola Johnson in Queensland and refereed at the National Youth Festival in Perth last month.

"We're very fortunate in Australia to have a lot of Olympic referees so I'll take as many opportunities as I can to get feedback," O'Brien said.

"Moving forward, I hope to stay on the AWL panel and referee AWL games because it is the highest competition in Australia for water polo.

"I always had great support from Leah Dodd in the Ovens and Murray.

"I'm an Albury boy in the city but moving to Brisbane has definitely made me fall in love with the game a lot more."

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