PHIL BENTHAM, the RFL’s head of match officials, has called Tara Jones the “outstanding candidate” to take charge of the Women’s Super League Grand Final on Sunday.

Jones will be the first woman to control the showpiece event when Wigan Warriors play St Helens, despite playing for Saints until last season.

Her final game in the red vee was the 2024 Grand Final, when St Helens were beaten by York Valkyrie, as she retired to take up a full-time role in the match officials department.

She had previously combined playing – the hooker won a Super League title and four Challenge Cup crowns at Saints, and earned 14 England caps – with refereeing part-time.

Jones has made several notable pieces of history with the whistle, becoming the first woman to officiate a full League One match and first to be a Super League touch judge in 2024, then the first to referee a Championship game this year.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, in which Jones will officiate many of her former team-mates, Bentham said: “Tara was the outstanding candidate for this appointment.

“She has made excellent progress in her first season as a member of our full-time squad, earning appointments to referee fixtures in the Championship, and as a touch judge in the Super League.

“She has first-hand experience of playing in the Super League, and to see a woman earning the appointment to referee the Women’s Super League Grand Final for the first time can only be inspirational for the younger generations of female officials who are making progress in our system.”

St Helens joint-coach Craig Richards said Jones’ integrity could not be questioned.

“I’ve worked with Tara for a long time now and I know how dedicated and hard working she is,” said Richards.

“I also know her appointment is a great one based on merit. Neither team will get anything off her. She’ll referee it straight down the line. Her decision making is generally really good.

“She shouldn’t be held back from refereeing such a big game when she has proven on merit she is more than capable of handling it.”

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