Gee wins race for fourth finals referee spot: NRL Finals Week 1 match officials

Find out who is refereeing all four games this weekend.

EDITOR | September 8, 2026 - 7:06pm

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The NRL has confirmed its top four referees for the year, with Adam Gee winning the race for the best behind veterans Ashley Klein, Grant Atkins and Gerrard Sutton.

Klein, Sutton and Atkins have been shoe-ins for the finals for much of the year, with Klein officiating all three games in the State of Origin series.

Gee has had a mixed year with the whistle, but the 2023 NRL Grand Final will edge out competition such as Todd Smith and Liam Kennedy as Gee will step into the officiating cauldron of the finals.

He will head across the ditch for the weekend's big game between the Warriors and Dolphins, while Klein will kick-off the weekend when the Rabbitohs and Knights put their seasons on the line.

Atkins will control the other elimination match between the Sharks and Cowboys, while Sutton handles the Sunday Qualifying Final as minor premiers Panthers take on the Roosters.

Chris Butler is still in pole position to handle the Grand Final from the bunker. After doing the State of Origin series there, he will work the screens for the first two games this weekend, while Klein and Wyatt Raymond will do the other two.