Simpkins gets whistle for Grand Final

Paul Simpkins has been appointed to referee Sunday's Grand Final between Brisbane and Melbourne at Telstra Stadium. He'll take charge of his first grand final after being given the nod ahead of Steve Clark.

Simpkins, who has refereed Test and Origin matches, describes the appointment as the pinnacle of his career.

He says he's hoping for an open game on Sunday and he's confident the two teams would turn up to Telstra Stadium to play football and not test out the referee.

The touch judges for the premiership decider are Rod Lawrence and Steve Carrall. The video referees are Bill Harrigan and Chris Ward. Steve Clark is the stand-by ref.