There are few of the highs and lows of professional sport Ryan Brierley has not seen or experienced during his 12-year rugby league career. It is a big part of the reason why the Salford Red Devils full-back has built a second career as a players’ agent.
The 31-year-old may not have initially intended to enter into the world of player representation until hanging up his boots, but the past four years have seen it grow into a thriving operation looking after the interests of players in football’s Women’s Super League
Be it transfer wrangles, contract negotiations, or even the issues which come with injury or loss of form, Brierley is determined to ensure players are protected as best as possible – and has quickly realised problems which he thought just occurred in his sport are not unique to it as well.
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“I just thought ‘I never want a player to go through what I’ve been through’, so I set up an agency and it was there for when I finished playing,” Brierley told Sky Sports.
“To come full circle and come out of the bad times to be then trusted with a career in a similar situation was a massive turning point in my life and career.”
The roots of Brierley’s venture into being an agent sprang from when he was completing a sports industry management degree at Leeds Beckett University and had been going through a particularly tough period in his own career at the same time.
It ended up coming to fruition sooner than planned though through having got to know some of the Manchester City Women’s team’s players at ex-Toronto Wolfpack team-mate Cory Paterson’s coffee shop, and being asked by Steph Houghton to speak to one of her younger team-mates who needed some help.
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That player was now England international forward Jess Park, who became his first client and led to more players coming on board – even though Preston North End supporter Brierley admits he was concerned his sporting credentials might not match up to expectations.
“I was quite embarrassed to be mentioning rugby league because I didn’t want her to think ‘what does he know about football?’, but it was the opposite,” Brierley said.
“She loved the fact I’m still involved in sport and as far as Jess goes, she’s my best mate and I’ve always wanted that with my agent and want to give that to my players.
“Going through the troubles in my career, to have someone to have that much trust and faith in me to look after their career was a massive confidence boost and a massive compliment.
England international Jess Park was the first player to be represented by Brierley’s agency
“I always say my performances have been a lot better since signing Jess – probably because I’ve got an external focus now and it’s not all about me.”
As far as his rugby career goes, Brierley is feeling in a good place too, having recently signed a three-year contract extension with Salford which will keep him at the Betfred Super League club until at least the end of the 2026 season.
The Scotland international makes no secret of his childhood support of the Red Devils, with his father a big fan of the club too, being a big factor in his decision to remain with the team he has made 54 appearances and scored 21 tries for in his first two seasons at the AJ Bell Stadium.
The influence of head coach Paul Rowley, who he played under at Toronto as well, has helped get the best out of Brierley and make him feel that, for the first time in his career, he has cracked it as a Super League player.
Salford head coach Paul Rowley has been a big influence on Brierley
“Sometimes you let your heart rule your head and that’s what happens when you love a club so much,” Brierley said.
“I think for my family and the fans it’s great, but, ultimately, it’s about me being comfortable where I’m at. I think it’s the first time I’ve felt comfortable as a Super League player. I’ve got a head coach who believes in me and trusts me, which I’ve really enjoyed.
“I make no secret about the fact he’s the only coach who gets the best out of me. I don’t know how he does it or what buttons he pushes, but he gets the best out of me and knows me more than I know myself, so there was never a chance I’d think about leaving him.”
After getting to within 80 minutes of a return to Old Trafford for the Super League Grand Final in 2022, losing in the play-off semi-finals to eventual champions St Helens, Salford finished two points off the top six last year and missed out on a post-season place.
Brierley believes that was a fair reflection of their campaign and knows the loss of former Man of Steel Brodie Croft and England hooker Andy Ackers to Leeds Rhinos, opponents in the Red Devils’ opening fixture of 2024 on Friday, will have many doubting the team again.
Brierley aims for Salford to keep proving to the doubters wrong
However, he is happy to embrace the underdog tag and sees it as realistic to aim for a play-off place again this time around.
“I think the underdog narrative suits us and everyone mentions it, and I think the way we play we’ve become everyone’s second favourite team,” Brierley said. “We love that, and we’ll buy into that.
“It’s a bit of a surreal feeling when everything is against you, and you win a game or a position in the league people probably didn’t think you were capable of. Proving people wrong is nice, finding the balance this year of being realistic and proving people wrong needs to be struck quite fairly.
“People expecting us to be top two or top four with our budget and what has happened in pre-season is a lack of realism, so finding that balance of being eighth or ninth with five games to go and trying to chip off that sixth spot is probably what we’ll aim for and that’s the realistic approach to it.
“But we’ll buy into the drama of the underdog and the stories the media create because we enjoy that.”
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Watch Salford Red Devils away to Leeds Rhinos in their 2024 Betfred Super League season opener live on Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports Main Event from 7.30pm on Friday, February 16 (8pm kick-off). Also stream contract-free with NOW.
