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Perenara hangs up the whistle due to heart condition
A heart condition has forced veteran referee Henry Perenara into premature retirement.
© (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) Referee Henry Perenara talks with Tyson Frizell of the Dragons during the round four NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the St George Illawarra Dragons at Bankwest Stadium on June 08, 2020 in Sydney, Australia.
Perenara, who played for five NRL clubs before becoming a whistle-blower, has suffered from an abnormally fast heartbeat since his playing days. After suffering an episode during a recent training session, he realised he wouldn't be able to continue refereeing.
"It's exercise-induced supraventricular tachycardia [SVT]," Perenara explained.
"It's not life-threatening or dangerous to begin with. What it means is that my heartbeat can get up to 230 beats per minute.
"If I'm being honest, I've probably had it for 15-20 years, since I was playing.
"I only got it diagnosed in February, which is one of the reasons I didn't start in first grade; I missed the trials.
"I only get it when I'm training. It's like when the heart of old people races and they need to sit down and they know what to do, that's what it is. The only difference with my one is that I only get it when I referee or train at high levels.
"And obviously we have to be fit the way the game is now.
"I just managed it, I knew when I got it, I shortened my comms up. I don't know how I did it. The only time it is dangerous is if you are in SVT for a long time."
Perenara made 72 NRL appearances for the Warriors, Storm, Dragons, Eels and Sharks. He then moved into refereeing and officiated in more than 200 first-grade games.
"The difficulty with me when I'm refereeing is that I can't stop," he said.
"That was tricky. I don't know how I managed it, I just did it.
"I had a bit of an incident at training. When I was diagnosed I got put on meds and one of the side effects is that I got lethargic. After three games I got myself off meds because they were affecting me and weren't really working.
"I had an incident at training where I was in SVT for six minutes and nearly collapsed. I realised I can't keep doing it and made the call."
Perenara will see out the remainder of the season in the bunker and mentor the younger referees as they come through the ranks.
"It's an extremely hard decision but given all the circumstances, it was an easy one to make," he said.
"Now is the time to look back and reflect. If someone would have told me that I would do what I did when I took up refereeing 14 years ago, I'd take that straight away.
"I have been preparing for this day to come for a long time. I've got a management degree I'll put to use, I've got a finance background so I might jump into something in that field. If it's in rugby league, then it's rugby league."
A heart condition has forced veteran referee Henry Perenara into premature retirement.
Perenara, who played for five NRL clubs before becoming a whistle-blower, has suffered from an abnormally fast heartbeat since his playing days. After suffering an episode during a recent training session, he realised he wouldn't be able to continue refereeing.
"It's exercise-induced supraventricular tachycardia [SVT]," Perenara explained.
"It's not life-threatening or dangerous to begin with. What it means is that my heartbeat can get up to 230 beats per minute.
"If I'm being honest, I've probably had it for 15-20 years, since I was playing.
"I only got it diagnosed in February, which is one of the reasons I didn't start in first grade; I missed the trials.
"I only get it when I'm training. It's like when the heart of old people races and they need to sit down and they know what to do, that's what it is. The only difference with my one is that I only get it when I referee or train at high levels.
"And obviously we have to be fit the way the game is now.
"I just managed it, I knew when I got it, I shortened my comms up. I don't know how I did it. The only time it is dangerous is if you are in SVT for a long time."
Perenara made 72 NRL appearances for the Warriors, Storm, Dragons, Eels and Sharks. He then moved into refereeing and officiated in more than 200 first-grade games.
"The difficulty with me when I'm refereeing is that I can't stop," he said.
"That was tricky. I don't know how I managed it, I just did it.
"I had a bit of an incident at training. When I was diagnosed I got put on meds and one of the side effects is that I got lethargic. After three games I got myself off meds because they were affecting me and weren't really working.
"I had an incident at training where I was in SVT for six minutes and nearly collapsed. I realised I can't keep doing it and made the call."
Perenara will see out the remainder of the season in the bunker and mentor the younger referees as they come through the ranks.
"It's an extremely hard decision but given all the circumstances, it was an easy one to make," he said.
"Now is the time to look back and reflect. If someone would have told me that I would do what I did when I took up refereeing 14 years ago, I'd take that straight away.
"I have been preparing for this day to come for a long time. I've got a management degree I'll put to use, I've got a finance background so I might jump into something in that field. If it's in rugby league, then it's rugby league."
