Northern NSW Football is thrilled to celebrate the achievements of Isabella Walshe, Lucy Hungerford and Alexander (Sandy) MacNeill after the trio were recognised among the nation’s leading match officials and volunteers at the Football Australia Referee Awards on Saturday night.
Walshe was named Female Pathways Referee of the Year, Hungerford was A-League Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year, while MacNeill was awarded Volunteer of the Year.
Walshe has continued to grow as a match official following her selection in the NNSWF Referee Academy in 2025, led by NNSWF High Performance Referee Coach Casey Reibelt.
Under Reibelt's guidance Walshe advanced to the NPL Women's NNSW Reserve Grade panel before swiftly progressing to the NPL Women's NNSW First Grade panel, making her debut in March.
Walshe was selected to officiate at the 2026 Emerging Matildas Championships following her advancements at the local level, where she was named under-15s Referee of the Tournament.
Walshe said she was honoured to be named FA Female Pathways Referee of the Year and have her hard work throughout the year recognised.
“Winning the Football Australia Female Pathways Referee of the Year award means so much to me because it recognises the hard work and dedication I've put into refereeing,” Walshe said.
“It's a huge honour and motivates me to keep developing as a referee and I hope it inspires other young female referees to pursue the sport.”
Hungerford has continued her career as an assistant referee over the last year after being appointed to the Hahn Australia Cup national round of 32, round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final in 2025, before making her Ninja A-League debut as an assistant referee in October 2025.
Following a monumental 2025 Hungerford continued to grow throughout 2026, becoming the 100th assistant referee to debut in the Isuzu UTE A-League in April and being named as an assistant referee for the Ninja A-League grand final in May, just seven months after her debut.
Hungerford was thrilled to be recognised as A-League Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year and said she was determined to continue developing.
“Winning the A-League Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year award is an incredibly proud moment, especially after what has been such a massive year,” Hungerford said.
“I’ve worked hard to challenge myself and keep improving every time I step onto the pitch. To have that recognised is really special and I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me along the way.”
MacNeill became involved with refereeing in 2021 after his grandson decided to pick up the whistle. Since then he has mentored and coached youth referees throughout the weekend in the Newcastle youth competition.
Before MacNeill found himself in the world of football, he was an internationally acclaimed rugby union referee and officiated 16 Test matches, making him the most successful rugby union referee to hail from the Hunter region.
His extensive experience offers invaluable wisdom and expertise in player management and the psychology required to officiate confidently. Without people like MacNeill nurturing grassroots referees, retention and development of match officials in the Hunter region would not be as strong.
MacNeill was honoured to be named FA Volunteer of the Year but remained humble, recognising the contribution of parents and families who support young match officials.
“It is an honour to win an award for doing something that you thoroughly enjoy,” MacNeill said.
“Perhaps the winners should be the parents who drive and wait whilst their child can referee.”
NNSWF General Manager Referee Growth and Development Brad Carlin was thrilled to see three match officials from northern NSW recognised by Football Australia.
“To have Isabella, Lucy and Alexander recognised at the national level is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the quality of people we have within our referee community,” Carlin said.
“Each of them represents a different and incredibly important part of referee development, from Isabella's rapid progression as a young referee, to Lucy's achievements on the national stage and Alexander's tireless commitment to supporting the next generation of match officials.
“These awards are a great recognition of their individual contributions but they also highlight the strength of the referee pathway across northern NSW. We are incredibly proud of them and look forward to seeing what they achieve next.”