RFL match officials
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2023) |
The RFL Match Officials are a select group of professional Rugby League match officials who officiate the top divisions of Rugby League in Britain.[1]
Officials are required to take part in a Fitness Test to maintain and or gain their status.
Match Official Department Staff
[edit]Phil Bentham was re-appointed as the RFL's Head of Match Officials in February 2024,[2] he previously held this post on an interim basis between Jan-March 2021 while Steve Ganson was on leave.
Dave Elliot served as interim Head of Match Officials for between Jan-Dec 2023 while an internal investigation took place into the department, ran by Steve Ganson from 2016. This concluded with Ganson leaving the RFL by mutual consent in December 2023.[3]
Name | Position |
---|---|
Phil Bentham | Head of Match Officials |
Dave Elliott | Match Officials Coach |
Julian King | Match Officials Coach |
Anthony Atherton | Match Officials Coach |
Chris Kendall | Select Referee Group Manager |
Steve Williams | Select Touch Judge Group Manager |
Tom Grant | Entry & Emerging Referee Groups Manager |
Marcus Griffiths | Women's Super League Squad Manager |
Ryan Cox | Appointments and Development Officer |
Mike Smaill | Match Officials Business Manager |
Matty Lynn | Match Officials Administrator |
To become an Elite match official, Grade 1 officials must have an interview with the Head of Match Officials.
Grading | Referee | Touch Judge |
---|---|---|
Elite | Super League | Super League |
1 (Select) | Championship & League 1 | Championship & League 1 |
2 (Emerging) | Academy/Reserves & Women's Super League | Reserves & Women's Super League |
3 (Entry) | National Conference League & Scholarship | Academy & Scholarship |
Since the 2007 season, the Rugby Football League have employed a panel of full-time officials. That panel currently has nine members.
Current Full Time Match Officials Squad
[edit]Managed by Phil Bentham.
Name | Society | Age | Year Appointed |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Wigan | 26 years, 286 days | 2023 |
![]() | Mid Yorkshire (Chairman) | 42 years, 362 days | 2005 |
![]() | Huddersfield | 32 years, 84 days | 2015 |
![]() | Wigan | 35 years, 192 days | 2022 |
![]() | Wigan | 29 years, 59 days | 2017 |
![]() | Leeds | 30 years, 49 days | 2018 |
![]() | Widnes | 30 years, 102 days | 2019 |
![]() | Dewsbury & Batley | 24 years, 69 days | 2022 |
![]() | St George Referees (Sydney, Australia) | 35 years, 81 days | 2022 |
Previous Full Time Match Officials
[edit]Name | Society | Start | End | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Dewsbury & Batley | 2010 | 2022 | 12 years |
![]() | Mid Yorkshire | |||
![]() | Oldham | |||
![]() | Leigh | 2021 | ||
![]() | ||||
![]() | Warrington | |||
![]() | ||||
![]() | Widnes | |||
![]() | Widnes | |||
![]() | St Helens | |||
![]() | St Helens | |||
![]() | Oldham | |||
![]() | Dewsbury & Batley | |||
![]() | Leeds |
Elite Touch Judges (Super League)
[edit]Managed by Dave Elliot. By default the RFL Full Time Match Officials are graded as Elite Touch Judges.
Name | Society | Name | Society |
---|---|---|---|
Denton Arnold | St Helens | Tom Grant | Leeds |
Nick Bennett | Wakefield | Marcus Griffiths | Widnes |
Dean Bowmer | Wakefield | Chris Kendall | Huddersfield |
Peter Brooke | Manchester | Aaron Moore | Wigan |
Ryan Cox | St Helens | Liam Moore | Wigan |
Mark Craven | Leeds | Liam Rush | Dewsbury & Batley |
Simon Ellis | Jack Smith | Wigan | |
Neil Horton | Wakefield | Ben Thaler | Wakefield |
Gareth Jones | Warrington | James Vella | St George Referees (Sydney, Australia) |
Paul Marklove | Warrington | ||
Ellis McCarthy | Castleford & Featherstone | ||
Scott Mikalauskas | Leigh | ||
Jonathon Roberts | Leeds | ||
Richard Thompson | Hull | ||
Warren Turley | Leigh | ||
Cameron Worsley | Castleford & Featherstone | ||
Total Count = 25. Part Time = 16. | Full Time = 9. |
Grade 1 Match Officials
[edit]Select Referees
[edit]Managed by Julian King & Chris Kendall.
Name | Society | Name | Society |
---|---|---|---|
Denton Arnold | St Helens | Sam Jenkinson | |
Aaryn Belafonte | Huddersfield | Tara Jones | Warrington |
Nick Bennett | Mid Yorkshire | Freddie Lincoln | Huddersfield |
Alan Billington | Widnes | Matty Lynn | |
Luke Bland | Leeds | Scott Mikalauskas | Leigh |
Elliot Burrow | Cumbria | Bradley Milligan | Cumbria |
Matty Clayton | Kevin Moore | Mid Yorkshire | |
Ryan Cox | St Helens | Michael Smaill | Leigh |
Will Gilder | Andy Sweet | Mid Yorkshire | |
Sam Houghton | Manchester | Adam Williams | Wigan |
Carl Hughes | Mid Yorkshire | Cameron Worsley | Mid Yorkshire |
Jordan Hughes | Cumbria | Kristoff Young | Wales |
Total Count = 24. |
Select Touch Judges
[edit]Managed by Steve Williams.
Name | Society | Name | Society |
---|---|---|---|
Aaryn Belafonte | Huddersfield | Matty Lynn | |
Alan Billington | Widnes | Ollie Maddock | Warrington |
Luke Bland | Leeds | Milo McKelvey | |
Ben Brocklehurst | Mid Yorkshire | Bradley Milligan | Cumbria |
Elliot Burrow | Cumbria | Kevin Moore | Mid Yorkshire |
Jamie Callaghan | St Helens | Lewis Obrien | Wigan |
Alex Cameron | Josh Pemberton | Warrington | |
Matty Clayton | Oliver Salmon | ||
James Collier | Lucas Seal | Cumbria | |
J Collins | Gary Shaw | Wigan | |
Luke Flavell | Wigan | Joe Sterne | Mid Yorkshire |
Tommy Gibbs | Mid Yorkshire | Andy Sweet | Mid Yorkshire |
Will Gilder | A Tallon | ||
A Giles | Jordan Unsworth | ||
Sam Houghton | Manchester | Adam Williams | Wigan |
Carl Hughes | Mid Yorkshire | G Winnard | |
Jordan Hughes | Cumbria | H Winnard | |
Sam Jenkinson | P Wroe | ||
Tara Jones | Warrington | Kristoff Young | Wales |
Freddie Lincoln | Huddersfield | ||
Total Count = 39. |
Grade 2 Match Officials
[edit]Emerging Referees
[edit]Managed by Tom Grant.
Name | Society | Name | Society | Name | Society | Name | Society |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tolver Arnold | St Helens | C Curren | A McDonald | Pete Smith | |||
M Apsee | C Davies | Milo McKelvey | Joe Sterne | Castleford & Featherstone | |||
J Bacon | Simon Ellis | R Mitchell | A Tallon | ||||
Dylan Barlow | Wigan | Luke Flavell | Wigan | Lewis Obrien | Wigan | Warren Turley | Leigh |
O Bowie | Tommy Gibbs | G Pallet | G Winnard | London | |||
Dean Bowmer | Wakefield | A Giles | Neil Pascall | H Winnard | London | ||
Ben Brocklehurst | Castleford | Connor Griffiths | Warrington | Josh Pemberton | Warrington | Brandon Worsley | Castleford & Featherstone |
F Brown | Neil Horton | Craig Regan | Cumbria | ||||
Jamie Callaghan | St Helens | Owen Ireland | A Rhodes | ||||
Alex Cameron | J Kinsley | Oliver Salmon | |||||
James Collier | D Krout | Reece Schofield | Manchester | ||||
J Collins | Phil Loeb | Warrington | Lucas Seal | Cumbria | |||
M Cowan | Ollie Maddock | Warrington | Gary Shaw | Wigan | |||
A Creasey | Paul Marklove | Warrington | Kristian Silcock | St Helens | |||
Total Count = 49 |
Emerging Touch Judges
[edit]Managed by Ryan Cox.
Name | Society | Name | Society | Name | Society |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
M Apsee | D Frederick | K O'Shea | |||
R Apsee | D Geddes | G Pallet | |||
Innes Arnold | St Helens | Jordan Greenhalgh | Widnes | Neil Pascall | |
Tolver Arnold | St Helens | Connor Griffiths | Warrington | Shaun Pickering | St Helens |
Jack Bacon | Wigan | Lee Haggerty | St Helens | S Quarmby | |
Dylan Barlow | Wigan | S Harrison | Craig Regan | Cumbria | |
Ronan Bird | Widnes | R Holmes | R Rhodes | ||
O Bowie | Jamie Hooper | Castleford & Featherstone | Reece Schofield | Manchester | |
L Breheny | Wigan | Rhiannon Horsman | Leeds | S Shea | |
F Brown | Owen Ireland | Kristian Silcock | St Helens | ||
P Clayton | Liam Jones | St Helens | Adam Smith | ||
L Corcoran | J Kinsley | Pete Smith | |||
Andrew Coupar | St Helens | D Krout | B Thomas | ||
M Cown | K Lewis | C Topping | |||
G Cox | Phil Loeb | Warrington | T Topping | ||
I Curzon | Andy Marsh | Wigan | Rebecca Whiteley | Huddersfield/Wigan | |
C Davies | M Mills | A Woods | |||
Rebecca Floyd | St Helens | R Mithchell | Jack Woolass | Hull | |
H Forster | Mia Murphy | Leigh | Brandon Worsley | Castleford & Featherstone | |
Stuart Fraser | Midlands | B Neilson | Esmai Wright | Warrington | |
Total Count = 60. |
Grade 3 Match Officials
[edit]Entry Referees
[edit]Managed by Tom Grant.
Name | Society | Name | Society | Name | Society |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Atherton | Wigan | Harry Forster | Logan Miles | ||
T Bell | Jordan Greenhalgh | Widnes | M Mills | ||
J Berry | Liam Grundy | Andrew Mulligan | St Helens | ||
Ronan Bird | Widnes | Lee Haggerty | St Helens | Mia Murphy | Leigh |
M Bolton | S Harrison | R Nevinson | |||
N Bragg | Andy Hawley | Warrington | Tom Prescott | St Helens | |
L Breheny | Wigan | Johnatan Hewitt | Mid Yorkshire | Shaun Pickering | St Helens |
M Brighton | Ryan Holmes | Dewsbury & Batley | Sam Price | Wigan | |
D Brown | Jamie Hooper | Castleford & Featherstone | S Quarmby | ||
I Carson | Leigh | Rhiannon Horsman | Leeds | R Rhodes | |
Steve Cockram | St Helens | S Powell | Matt Roberts | Bradford | |
L Corcoran | Liam Jones | St Helens | Dan Saunders | Leeds | |
Andrew Coupar | St Helens | Naz Khan | Warrington | A Smith | |
G Cox | D Kindelan | Dave Swindlehurst | Wigan | ||
Lucas Dabbs | Leigh | Alex Leaf | Leeds | T Topping | |
J Davey | C MacDonald | E Watson | |||
F Evans | Andy Marsh | Wigan | A Woods | ||
J Evans | M Martin | Jack Woolass | Hull | ||
O Filer | Ross McCarthy | St Helens | Esmai Wright | Warrington | |
Rebecca Floyd | St Helens | Callum Murphy | Wigan |
| |
Total Count = 59. |
Entry Touch Judges
[edit]Managed by Ryan Cox.
Name | Society | Name | Society | Name | Society | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Atherton | Wigan | J Hewitt | A Tallon | |||
T Bell | Naz Khan | Warrington | B Thomas | |||
J Berry | D Kindelan | E Watson | ||||
M Bolton | C Lawson | A Woods | ||||
K Bonsor | A Leaf | |||||
N Bragg | C MacDonald | |||||
D Brown | M Martin | |||||
I Carson | Leigh | Ross McCarthy | St Helens | |||
Steve Cockram | St Helens | L Miles | ||||
L Collins | Callum Murphy | Wigan | ||||
Lucas Dabbs | Leigh | R Nevinson | ||||
J Davey | S Powell | |||||
F Evans | Tom Prescott | |||||
O Filer | Sam Price | Wigan | ||||
O Foulkes | J Raddings | |||||
J Foxon | M Roberts | |||||
Cameron Gray | London | D Saunders | ||||
L Grundy | P Strafford | |||||
Andy Hawley | Warrington | Dave Swindlehurst | Wigan | R Nevinson | ||
Total Count = 44. |
Kit suppliers and sponsors
[edit]Period | Manufacturers | Sponsors |
---|---|---|
2003-2006 | Patrick | Powergen |
2007 | Engage | |
2008-2009 | Puma | |
2010-2012 | ISC | |
2013 | none | |
2014 | Specsavers | |
2015-2017 | BLK | |
2018 | Hummel | |
2019-2020 | Ronseal | |
2021-2026 | Oxen |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ RFL. "RFL Match Officials". The RFL.
- ^ "Phil Bentham returns to Rugby League as RFL Head of Match Officials". RFL.
- ^ "Steve Ganson to quit as RFL Head of Match Officials". RFL.
- ^ "Rugby-League.com". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ "Full Time Match Officials | RFL". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2022-08-18.