Badger grew up in
Redfern, New South Wales and is the only NRL full-time referee with an indigenous background. He made his NRL debut as a referee during a Brisbane vs South Sydney game at Suncorp Stadium in round 17 of 2004. In 2006 he controlled his first international match, a
World Cup qualification match between
Fiji and
Tonga. Badger has also controlled
City vs Country Origin matches in 2009 and 2014 and the
2010 and
2011 All Stars matches. On 21 October 2012, the day of their second wedding anniversary, they jointly refereed an international match between Thailand and the Philippines. On 6 August 2017, Badger became the fifth referee to control 300 first grade matches in Australia, following
Bill Harrigan,
Col Pearce,
Shayne Hayne and
Steve Clark. ==References==