Former Castleford Tigers, Halifax Blue Sox and Huddersfield Giants player Jamie Bloem will make his first appearance in a televised Rugby League game since 2003 when he takes to the field as an RFL touch-judge in tonight’s Co-operative Championship game between York City Knights and Sheffield Eagles.

Bloem has been an RFL official for the past three years, gaining valuable experience as a match referee and touch-judge, and tonight’s game will see him make his debut in front of the Sky Sports.

“I enjoy the role immensely,” said Bloem. “I really enjoy officiating whether it be as referee or as touch-judge and it’s something that more people should get involved with.

“Referees get a lot of stick from fans and there’s a type of stigma attached to the job which makes it seem un-cool but if 90 per cent of fans took a referee’s course, they’d realise it’s a lot more difficult than it looks. I was a veteran of 15 years as a player and I didn’t even know all the rules when I took the course.”

Having made over 100 appearances as a player in Super League, Bloem is confident the added pressure of the TV cameras won’t phase him.

“I don’t get nervous in front of the cameras,” he said. “I have a job to do to help the officiating team run the game smoothly and it doesn’t matter if there are 20 or 20,000 fans in the crowd, we all have to be focused on our role.

“Of course it’s hard to take as a fan and a player when you think you’ve been harshly done by and I have been in that situation as a player, but I think it’s important that you play the game and officiate the game with a smile on your face.”

The York City Knights versus Sheffield Eagles game will be live on Sky Sports 4 at 7.30pm this evening.

To keep up to date with all the latest news from the Co-operative Championships follow @RLChampionships on Twitter