Rimmer: ‘I’m a bad man to slow down’

BY JOHN DAVIDSON

Ralph Rimmer says he has a lot of energy and has returned to Huddersfield Giants “to make an impact” after being appointed to lead a stadium project for the club.

Rimmer, the former CEO of the RFL and a former CEO of the Giants, will undertake a three-month project with the remit of “Stadia Strategy and Beyond – Building the future of Huddersfield Giants”, the club has announced.

He left the RFL in 2022 with a large payout.

Huddersfield are hoping to build a new stadium in the city and move away from the John Smith’s Stadium, but do not have council approval and will relocate to the Shay in Halifax in 2026.

In an interview with the Giants, Rimmer said: “Hopefully I can bring the club and that stadium strategy, which are all interlinked of course, to a good place in the next two or three months. There’s a lot on the table though and clearly it’s a critical place in the club’s history. There’s a lot to do in a short space of time.

“It’s a good time for a good news story at this club. And I think there are plenty to tell, we need to get our ducks in our line in certain areas in various parts of what the club does, and certainly as far as the stadium goes as well.

“Nevertheless, it’s a very well-supported club is as far as Ken and his colleagues go, I think it’s got a big future it just needs to tweak a few things to get it into a good place, and I’m certainly here to try and make that happen.”

Huddersfield sit second from bottom on the Super League ladder with just four wins from 20 games.

In 2025 they are averaging a crowd of just 4,507, the lowest in the competition.

Asked what success would look like in his return to the club, Rimmer replied: “Success for these three months is that we put a plan together that tells us where we want to go, what timescale and the steps that are in place and how we’re going to get there. That’s what we need to lay out.

“I don’t want to drop that at the end of the three months. I am, for those that don’t know me, I have got a lot of energy. I’m a bad man to slow down and I’m here to make an impact. Success is this club is buzzing when I’m leaving – that’s what success is.

“I’m here to help. We need to get the club bouncing. We don’t want to be sitting in 11th, we don’t want to be uncertain what the future is.

“We want to know exactly where we want to go and how we want to get there. We want to get the fans and the commercial sponsors properly engaged and have some good stories to tell, so let’s get on with it.”

After departing the RFL Rimmer has worked as a consultant, working on rugby union and football projects. He was appointed to the Board of Department Culture, Media and Sport two years ago.

Rimmer was also appointed as an associate director of sports strategy and consultancy firm Global-13, run by Jason Harborow.

Recently, rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads revealed that Harborow is a key figure with Nigel Wood’s group that is reviewing UK rugby league.