The RFL’S new chief executive Tony Sutton has hit back at knockers of his appointment insisting: "I’ll be different to the rest."
The governing body came in for criticism after selecting from within for its top job for a third successive time. Sutton, appointed last month after being in caretaker charge since December, follows in the footsteps of both Nigel Wood and Ralph Rimmer. Many people felt it was time for a fresh approach with the sport facing a critical period with its ‘reimagining’ underway with IMG and the broadcast deal with Sky due to expire again this year.
But as Sutton gets to work, he maintains he’s the right person for the task. He said: “The recruitment process was long and in depth. My first chat with the recruitment agent was back in October. As for the list, I can’t control who’s on the long list or the short list. That was up to others. But I was delighted to make it through.
“In terms of what makes it different, one of the big things is that I spent nearly 15 seasons at a club (Hull FC) so I know what it’s like on both sides. I know how tough it can be. I know how great it can be. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of months at the Boulevard and then the move to the new stadium so I know what that’s like, too.
“But also the RFL is very different now. We went through the realignment process and we’re in the middle of the reimagining of the game. Rugby League Commercial is doing what it does, too, so we’re probably a bit more core-focused now on what people would see as true governing body functions.”
At the heart of that, Sutton’s key aim is to drive standards but also improve awareness of the sport, increase participation and help finally sort the international calendar. IMG, of course, have come in and recommended grading criteria to define how Super League, RFL Championship and League One clubs will be assessed starting from 2025, as part of the ‘reimagining’ plans.
Some clubs aren’t sure yet on how that will look but Sutton believes it will be a critical time for the sport’s future. He added: "It’s unfair to call it a transition period but this is the enabling period to get to what we want to see. What we’re really looking for is 12 Grade A clubs where all those standards have risen, where all the markers of success have risen. And then 14 Grade A clubs, and then 16 Grade A clubs because that means everything is lifting up.
“It’s happened in the NRL where the numbers have gone up as the standards have raised. This is almost a really long transition phase to where we want to be: more attendances, more viewers and more clubs hitting those high standards. But we’ve asked (IMG) for proposals and the game gets to vote on them on April 19. No one is enforcing anything.”
Clubs will also get to see some revised criteria today as IMG tweak with the plan slightly. Meanwhile, Sutton has vowed to target coaching as well, increasing the number of coaches in the sport but also improving the standard. He said: “The numbers of young people playing the game and that being accessible is super important to me. It’s not the bottom of the pyramid, it’s the start of the pyramid.
“And where a number of us might have had a run around when younger - and where people professional now - that area all started usually where younger. We have to, then, have a bit of a look at coaching: our standard and number of coaching. A core driver of whether you go back to continue in a sport you might try when younger is how good the coach was and how involved and up to date. We have some fantastic volunteers doing that but I think we owe them a bit more care about their professional development and what we can give to them.”
The other urgent matter in his inbox is international rugby league with England hoping to secure a three-Test home series against Tonga this autumn. Sutton said: “It’s a perennially hot topic, especially post World Cup. It’s a conversation we have almost daily. We’re working on a programme up to the 2025 World Cup and then what we do after that as a settled international calendar - as we’ve just seen - delivers people watching on telly, people buying shirts and kids wanting to run around and play rugby. It’s powerful and we’re trying so hard to get it sorted.”
