RFL interim chief executive Tony Sutton out to land permanent job after Hull FC apprenticeship

Sutton has assumed the role of chief executive on an interim basis ahead of Rimmer's official departure at the end of 2022.

With six years' worth of experience under his belt at the governing body, Sutton has the opportunity to make himself impossible to ignore in the coming weeks and months.

When asked whether he was throwing his hat into the ring for the permanent job, he told The Yorkshire Post. "Absolutely.

"That recruitment is already under way. Hopefully by the end of quarter one those decisions will be made.

"I very much view it as an advantage that I can start to really look at the things that I would want to do.

"Ralph has left a pretty strong legacy of the things he was able to do, as has Karen (Moorhouse, executive director) who also leaves at the end of the year.

"But I've got a real chance to start to make little changes and also think about the changes I'd want to make if I was the permanent appointment."

Sutton joined the RFL as director of finance and facilities in January 2017 before stepping up to the role of chief operating officer two years later.

He has full autonomy after taking the reins from Rimmer at the start of this week.

"I was delighted when Simon (Johnson, RFL chair) and the board asked me to do the interim role," said Sutton.

"That was my first question: does it come with the full responsibility? That might be quite short term but hopefully not.

"You want to perform the role with full responsibility and full authority. I don't just want to keep the seat warm; I want to act as if it's permanent within reason by starting to make decisions and changes."

The Cottingham native commutes from his Beverley home to the Etihad Campus in Manchester.

Sutton admits rugby league was not on his radar until he joined Hull FC, initially as financial controller.

"As a kid, I played and watched a lot of football," he said.

"I was lucky enough to get a job at Hull FC on the first weekend of the 2001 season.

"It was a super steep learning curve because I was surrounded by people who knew the game inside out and had been there for a long time. I got really bitten by the bug.

"It was around the time when respect for referees started to become an issue in football. I was sat watching this game where crowds still stood together, weren't fenced apart, and great big blokes would smash into each other but still call the referee 'sir', and only the captain would speak to the ref. I thought, 'Wow, this is a game I can get on board with'.

"I started watching lots and lots of rugby league and absolutely loved it.

"It's a time I remember really, really fondly. It was a great time at that club with some great people."

Sutton spent 13 years at Hull – latterly as chief operating officer overseeing all off-field matters – before a stint as Hull College Group's group finance director.

He feels well equipped to run rugby league's governing body.

"At the RFL, I've had responsibility for finance, HR, data, IT, facilities – all the things that aren't quite so forward-facing but without them you're going to struggle," said Sutton. "I've had a really good experience of all those departments.

"The RFL has a pretty high profile but we're not a huge organisation with 120 people. I think we punch above our weight in some of the impacts that we have.

"It's been a really good grounding in what we can and can't do. I think that gives me a pretty good base to see what stamp I want to put on it and the type of things I think we should be trying to do next."

The governance of the sport is entering a new era following the formation of Rugby League Commercial, which is set to become fully operational from January.

The new commercial arm will drive revenue to make the game more sustainable, meaning there will be changes to how the RFL operates.

"The RFL will very much do the governance, compliance, delivery of match officials – those core national governing body roles," explained Sutton.

"There's growing participation and all those kinds of things that you would expect. We have core and key relationships with government through Sport England and UK Sport, and have the responsibility of taking forward the wonderful things you will have seen in the World Cup.

"Wheelchair rugby league was probably the best-kept secret in rugby league and maybe even UK sport until recently. Then there's women's rugby league and the success of the PDRL England team.

"The post-World Cup challenge is that if people want to come and play, they're able to do so and know where to do so."