Smaill moved to Sydney in 2013 after being ranked as a premier club rugby referee in Dunedin.
League was always his first love and he has made real progress since becoming a rugby league referee.
Smaill (28) has refereed a combination of matches in the junior representative grades and Central Coast last year, as well as the Koori Knockout Grand Final.
He was named rookie of the year by the New South Wales Rugby League Referees Association in 2014 and has slowly worked his way up the ranks in the state.He has been appointed to referee the test between Malta and the Philippines, which is set to be played in Sydney on February 4.
He was scheduled to referee the test between Thailand and Malta in October, but it was postponed.
The test in Australia will be his last before he moves to England as his partner, who is English, returns home. Smaill intends to immediately take up the whistle when he arrives in England.
After good references from some Australian referees, Smaill has been placed into the National Conference League as a referee and the Championship as a touch judge.
He has also been appointed as an in-goal judge in Super League.
Smaill said in a statement the England RFL had indicated there was a clear and very fast pathway for him. If he performed well, he had a strong chance of being added to the Super League academy.
The academy referees control games in the reserve grade and the championship divisions, the next two tiers down from Super League.League in England is played outside the harsh winter months and is due to kick off in the next couple of months.
Smaill said he could not believe all the help he had received and was looking forward to getting into the middle of the paddock in England.
