Touch Judge's Guide to NRL Community Rugby League Ages 13+ 2023

Each touch judge must carry an approved flag.

Raise your flag above your head at the point where the ball enters touch, and stand opposite that point. The exception is "ball back", which has its own signal. The referee must accept a touch judge's decision on touch and touch in-goal play.

• Ball back: wave your flag above your head, accentuating the movement towards the kicker's goal line, to show that no ground has been gained.
• Don't flag too early: do not raise your flag as soon as the ball in flight crosses the touch line if it might swerve or be blown back into the playing field. Play is not stopped if the ball drops back into the playing field.

If the ball enters touch in-goal, wave the flag across your body and below the waist. With your other hand, point to either the goal line or the twenty metre line, depending on where play should restart. Do not point to the player who made the ball dead.

A corner post placed where a touch line meets a goal line is in touch in-goal.

• Successful kick (goal scored): raise your flag above your head.
• Unsuccessful kick: wave your flag across and in front of your body, below the waist. If the ball goes over the dead ball line, tap the ground with the end of the flag stick.

You help the referee judge kicks at goal, and you may leave touch to do so.

• If there is no disagreement between the touch judges, their decision is accepted. If they disagree, the referee decides.
• If the ball passes near one upright, the touch judge assigned to that upright is in the better position to decide whether it passed inside or outside the post. In a disagreement, the referee should be more inclined to accept that touch judge's decision.
• You should not necessarily stay stationary while the ball is in flight. Move enough to keep a clear view of the ball at all times.
• Players from the non-kicking team must stay outside the field of play until the touch judges have made their decision on a conversion kick.

• You cannot stop play for an infringement. You may signal the nature of an infringement if the referee is unsighted and asks for your guidance.
• If you want to report a player's misconduct that has escaped the referee's notice, you may leave the touch line. Advise the referee as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary continuation of play. Any penalty is awarded where the offence occurred, not where play is later stopped.
• Do not unduly interfere with the referee's control of the game by reporting incidents the referee has obviously seen.
• You are at all times under the control of the referee, who may dismiss and replace you if the referee considers you can no longer be neutral.

When a free kick is being taken and the referee chooses to take up a position at the mark, both touch judges take up a position near the touch line ten metres beyond the mark. You act as a guide for the team that is required to retire.

• Corner posts: it is a duty of the touch judges to replace a corner post that is displaced during a game, or make sure it is replaced without delaying the game.
• Interchange: a replacement takes the field immediately, in an onside position, with the permission of a Touch Judge or Interchange Official.
• Returning players: a player who has temporarily left the game must inform the nearer touch judge before re-entering the playing field.
• Tries: only the referee awards a try, but the referee looks at both touch judges before signalling it, to make sure you are not reporting a prior incident.
• Official inquiries: if a match is likely to be the subject of an official investigation, report only to the investigating authority and do not comment through other channels.