Match Officials have today been appointed for the opening round of Betfred Super League fixtures – with a Video Referee assigned to each match.
Liam Moore, who refereed the climax of the 2023 season at Old Trafford, will take charge of the first match of the 2024 campaign – the Hull derby at the MKM Stadium on Thursday night.
Chris Kendall will be the video referee for that fixture, and the roles will then be reversed for Saturday’s match between Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves in Perpignan, with Kendall refereeing and Moore the video referee.
That will be the only one of the six matches with the video referee present at the stadium. For the other five – including the Hull derby – the video referee will be based at Super League’s new purpose-built base in Wilmslow, as part of the sport’s new broadcast partnership with Sky Sports under which all matches will be televised for the first time.
Liam Moore’s younger brother, Aaron, has been appointed for Sky Sports’ second exclusive pick of the opening weekend, the match between Leeds Rhinos and Salford Red Devils on Friday night – with Ben Thaler as the video referee.
Also on Friday night, with live coverage on Sky Sports and SuperLeague+, James Vella will referee St Helens versus London Broncos, and Jack Smith will take charge of Leigh Leopards versus Huddersfield Giants. Marcus Griffiths and Tom Grant are the respective video referees for those matches.
Then on Saturday evening, Tom Grant will referee the first Betfred Super League match to be shown live on BBC Sport, when Castleford Tigers host Wigan Warriors, with Jack Smith as the video referee. That match will also be shown on Sky Sports and SuperLeague+.
Betfred Super League Round One – Match Officials appointments
Thursday February 15
Hull FC v Hull KR – referee Liam Moore, video referee Chris Kendall
Friday February 16
Leeds Rhinos v Salford Red Devils – referee Aaron Moore, video referee Ben Thaler
Leigh Leopards v Huddersfield Giants – referee Jack Smith, video referee Tom Grant
St Helens v London Broncos – referee James Vella, video referee Marcus Griffiths
Saturday February 17
Castleford Tigers v Wigan Warriors – referee Tom Grant, video referee Jack Smith
Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves – referee Chris Kendall, video referee Liam Moore
