The Rugby Football League are pleased to announce that Gregory Dolan and Thomas Grant are the latest referees to be appointed as full-time match officials.
Dolan, who has taken charge of games in the National Conference through to Betfred Super League, joined Batley Referees Society in 1999 and made Grade 1 in 2009 but suffered an ACL rupture in the same year.
Since his injury, he has worked hard to make his way back up the ranks and in April 2018, he refereed his first Betfred Super League game taking charge of Leeds Rhinos v Salford Red Devils on Easter Monday.
Grant, began refereeing when he was 16 years old as an active member of Leeds Referee Society and progressed through the Referee Pathway.
He refereed the Champion Schools Year 7 Boys Final at Wembley in 2012, and has been a regular in Betfred Championship and League 1. He has also been a touch judge in Betfred Super League and Championship, making his debut in the top tier of Rugby League earlier this year when Huddersfield Giants came head to head with Widnes Vikings.
Gregory Dolan said, “I have progressed a lot throughout this season and I am really looking forward to the new challenge ahead of working as a Full time Match Official.”
Thomas Grant said, “Over the last 12 months, I’ve continued to develop as both a referee and touch judge and I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that being a full time official will bring.”
Rugby Football League Match Officials Director, Steve Ganson said, “It’s fantastic to be able to promote both Greg and Tom to our team of full-time match officials.
“It’s a big step up to the full-time programme but we feel they are both improving all the time and are ready to take on the challenge.
“We can see a lot of potential in both Greg and Tom and it’s great to provide opportunities for high quality officials to follow a career pathway in refereeing.”
