Football Federation SA Referee Regis Queffelec is gearing up for his first Hyundai A-League appointment on Saturday for the match between Gold Coast United and Melbourne Victory at Skilled Park.

Queffelec has regularly been appointed as a fourth official for Adelaide United’s matches at Hindmarsh Stadium, a senior match official for the National Youth League as well as officiating the HAL pre-season match between Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory.

The 30 year-old has joined South Australia’s  A Panel Referees since moving to Adelaide five years ago and admitted he is both exited and nervous by the prospect of his first appointment to the middle.

“It took me so long to get my first appointment, so I just want to focus on what I know to do best,” he said.

“Obviously it's another challenge and environment to what I'm generally used to, however I just want to go out there and enjoy the experience, to be able to enjoy more of it in the near future. I know that I'm more than capable of showing a strong performance.”

“The pre-season match I refereed was played at a very fast and intense pace, so I don't really expect it to be different.  The outcome of this game is obviously different for the two teams, but I want to use my pre-season game to overcome the challenge.”

Queffelec acknowledged his many appointments as Fourth Official has served him well and provided plenty of experience while dealing with some of the HAL’s toughest customers – the coaches.

“Being a fourth official helped me to develop further my refereeing especially over the last 4 years,” he said.

“Watching the most experienced referees in action is always a good thing, you can pick up few things here and there to match it to your own style. It also brings another challenge, managing the benches and especially the coaches can be tough at times and I've always tried to use my own techniques to manage them. It's for me to adapt those techniques on the park.”

The 2011 Mike Ingham Referee of the Year admitted FFSA’s pre-season competition, the Carlsberg Cup, has been the perfect preparation for his HAL debut on Saturday while also maintaining his regular training routine. 

“The Carlsberg Cup has brought me match fitness, which I lacked since my last NYL game in December,” he said.

“It also helps me to work on the different coaching points that we are given at a National level on a weekly basis, as well as working on the coaching points which emerged from my NYL games.” 

“As with every other game, I have attended the two training sessions this week. I'll have my usual pre- match training where I generally concentrate on mental preparation and I'll also be watching few match reviews that we are provided at a National level.”