Suttor appointed to grand final

SPRINGFIELD?S Brett Suttor has been appointed to referee the 2006 QLD Wizard Cup Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium.

In just his second season of officiating in the State League, Suttor got the nod in a tough decision over the likes of standby referee Justin Eastwood and South East Division Referee of the Year Michael Wise.

A former Air Force recruit who traded in his pilot wings to concentrate on refereeing, the 26-year-old becomes just the sixth referee to control a Wizard Cup grand final.

?I almost fell over when I was told the news,? said Suttor, now working as an electrician to supplement his refereeing ambitions.

?It?s great. It?s the biggest appointment you can basically have while being based in Queensland.

?I?d love to be able to do it fulltime eventually.?

Suttor has previously refereed an Australia v Papua New Guinea Test match and an Australia v New Zealand Defence Force international.

In an exchange program this season he refereed eight games of the New South Wales VB Premier League.

Marsden school teacher Tony Maksoud, who holds the record of five QLD Wizard Cup grand finals, has been appointed as video referee for the decider between Toowoomba and Redcliffe.

The touch judges for the afternoon will be the Gold Coast?s Glen Richardson and the Sunshine Coast?s Damian Breen.