RFL match officials
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Aaron Moore
|
Wigan | 27 years, 1 day | 2023 |
| Chris Kendall
|
Huddersfield | 32 years, 165 days | 2015 |
| Jack Smith
|
Wigan | 35 years, 273 days | 2022 |
| Liam Moore
|
Wigan | 29 years, 140 days | 2017 |
| Tara Jones
|
Warrington | 28 years, 128 days | 2025 |
| Tom Grant
|
Leeds | 30 years, 130 days | 2018 |
| Marcus Griffiths
|
Widnes | 30 years, 183 days | 2019 |
| Liam Rush
|
Dewsbury & Batley | 24 years, 150 days | 2022 |
 James Vella
|
St George Referees (Sydney, Australia) | 35 years, 162 days | 2022 |
Previous Full Time Match Officials
[edit]| Name | Society | Start | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Thaler
|
Wakefield | 2005 | 2024 | 19 years |
| James Child
|
Dewsbury & Batley | 2010 | 2022 | 12 years |
| Cameron Worsley
|
Mid Yorkshire | |||
| Robert Hicks
|
Oldham | |||
| Scott Mikalauskas
|
Leigh | 2021 | ||
| Greg Dolan
|
||||
| Phil Bentham
|
Warrington | |||
 Thierry Alibert
|
||||
| Joe Cobb
|
Widnes | |||
| Chris Campbell
|
Widnes | |||
| Steve Ganson
|
St Helens | |||
| George Stokes
|
St Helens | |||
| Ian Smith
|
Oldham | |||
| Richard Silverwood
|
Dewsbury & Batley | |||
| Ashley Klein
|
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 | Dewsbury & Batley | Jack Smith | Wigan |
| Neil Horton | Wakefield | Tara Jones | Warrington |
| 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 | Freddie Lincoln | Huddersfield |
| Nick Bennett | Mid Yorkshire | Matty Lynn | |
| Alan Billington | Widnes | Scott Mikalauskas | Leigh |
| Luke Bland | Leeds | Bradley Milligan | Cumbria |
| Elliot Burrow | Cumbria | Kevin Moore | Mid Yorkshire |
| Matty Clayton | Michael Smaill | Leigh | |
| Ryan Cox | St Helens | Andy Sweet | Mid Yorkshire |
| Will Gilder | Adam Williams | Wigan | |
| Sam Houghton | Manchester | Cameron Worsley | Mid Yorkshire |
| Carl Hughes | Mid Yorkshire | Kristoff Young | Wales |
| Jordan Hughes | Cumbria | ||
| Total Count = 23. | |||
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.