As soon as rugby league player Ryan Brierley left the field, he ran to his phone.
As well as scoring for Second Division side Oldham at their Boundary Park stadium in a 13-12 win over top-tier Super League side Doncaster, he had to check emails from Women's Super League rivals Manchester City and Manchester United.
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The defender is also a football agent and was negotiating a move from City to United for his client Jess Park, with the transfer window closing within days.
“I remember going out onto the pitch in shorts and socks, trying to get the deal done,” says Brierley, a couple of hours before he watched Park play in Saturday's Manchester derby with Athletic. “I didn't even take a shower.”
Park, who made her senior debut for City aged 16, wanted more game time and switched from Manchester's blue team to the red team in September, while Grace Clinton took a different route. The attacking midfielder has been the catalyst for Mark Skinner's side.
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Brierley, who played rugby league for Salford Red Devils, Leigh Centurions, Hull Kingston Rovers, Huddersfield and Toronto Wolfpack, knows all too well what it's like to face his former club.
“It's a different feeling,” he says, sitting in a cafe near Manchester City's Etihad Stadium. “It's a very emotional game. She knows these players inside out. You want to prove some people wrong, of course, and Jess will be no exception.”
This is just one example of how the 33-year-old is using her experience as a professional athlete to help the England team build her career.
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Brierley played for Toronto in Canada in 2020, but the club struggled financially and collapsed during the global pandemic, leaving players without jobs. As captain, Brierley felt a responsibility to protect his players. He became the answer to their questions and support.
In October, after a five-year legal battle, the players eventually received the money they were owed, but their lives were seriously affected.
“It was terrible to see families destroyed because of this,” Brierley says. “Parents and players are struggling mentally. I thought, 'I don't want any player to go through what I went through in a day.'
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That same year, Brierley founded Player's Player, a sports management company, with former teammate Corey Paterson. Their first client was young Park, who had just signed her first professional football contract with City.
Brierley often went to Paterson's Jacora coffee shop in Astley, Wigan, a town in Greater Manchester, north-west England, where he met former and current City and England players Steph Houghton, Jill Scott, Alex Greenwood and Georgia Stanway.
One day Houghton called Brierley and learned that the young player was looking for an agent. Brierley, who was playing for Hull Kingston Rovers at the time, told the former England captain: “I can't be an agent, I don't know anything about women's football.”
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But Houghton advised him to call Park. “Being her agent was never an option,” says Brierley. Half an hour later, Park's parents asked him if he would represent their daughter.
“No, I can’t, I don’t have a license,” he replied. Brierley didn't want to let her down. “If this player is going to trust me with his career, I have to be the best agent I can be,” he thought. His wife warned him that this could be his biggest regret.
“Jess will say she needed me back then, and I disagree,” he says. “I needed her.”
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After his time in Toronto, Brierley experienced a “nightmare” situation. He found that being responsible for someone else's career distracted him from his own problems.
“It changed my life for the better,” he says. “I’ve matured a little, I’ve got more responsibility, I just didn’t want to screw up.”
Brierley, a two-time Rugby League Championship winner with Leigh Centurions, admits he is not a football expert but tries to share his experiences, such as overcoming performance anxiety, with his women's football clients, who include City's Cody Thomas and players from Championship sides Sunderland and Newcastle United.
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“I’m probably not the best player at dealing with anxiety, but I’m probably the best evangelist for it,” he says, reminding his players that “it’s just a game of football” and why they started playing. “Enjoying yourself is paramount,” he says.
One of his tests is a door handle. “If the doorknob is really heavy before you go to work out and you feel anxious opening the door to enter the building, you're in the wrong place,” he says.
“Regardless of contracts, business deals, fame and attention, I just need to be happy when I step on the training ground. If you're not happy, there's no point in it.”
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Brierley talks to Park every day and most of the time it's not about football, but about life.
He never gives advice on tactics other than what it takes to become a pro, recovery and nutrition. “I haven't taken care of my body properly since I was about 27, I wish I had done it much younger,” he says.
“I can predict what managers will say if they’re lying because I’ve experienced it myself,” he says. “Jess and I will butt heads a few times if I agree with the coach and she wants to play. No one can understand the mind of a player unless you've been one.”
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Brierley feels the anxiety associated with being a professional athlete is the same regardless of the sport.
“I always tell my players, ‘The sooner you understand the politics of sports, the easier your career will be.’ It takes time for players to understand that.
“Sports can be such a cruel world. It's important that they have a support network and an understanding of how the sport works.”
Brierley also encourages Park to have fun and celebrate with her teammates. “When her teammates score, I want her to enjoy it,” he says.
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“All the fans in the world can make you feel good, but if Ella Toon says, 'Wow, that was amazing,' it gives a little more credibility.” He reminds her that winning and scoring goals is not easy, so enjoy it. “It’s something I haven’t done very often,” he says. -You take it for granted.
Brierley says it is difficult to compare rugby league to women's football because the players are on what he calls a “pedestal”. “They have global brands fighting for them, it’s never happened before in rugby league.”
Another key difference is their game schedule. Park and her peers battle it out with weekend WSL matches, midweek Champions League games and England camps sandwiched in between.
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“It's amazing,” he says. “The hours they dedicate to the game are commendable.”
United turn around quickly heading into the derby after beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1.
Brierley sends Park the same message before the game: “Have fun and be yourself.” He describes the 24-year-old as “bold” on the pitch. “It brings out the best in her,” he says. “She turns into a little demon on the field where she just wants to beat people up.”
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Overall he feels more excited than nervous as we take our seats in the back corner with the United fans. He has fond memories of Park scoring a brace against United at the Etihad in March 2024. Park also watched Brierley play. “We have a little argument about who's faster, and it's definitely me,” he smiles.
Speaking of fast starts, City start from the top positions. Brierley admits that he is not a tactical expert and focuses more on people and their physical condition. He pushes forward and Puck makes a dash and throws a through ball, but nothing comes of it. “Jess Park, man, how does she do it?” says one fan behind us. “She's leaving everyone.”
United failed to defend a corner in the 26th minute and Rebecca Knaak's header gave the hosts a 1-0 lead. It was getting closer. “Don’t worry,” Brierley would advise Park. “City were the better team, wait for your moment, at some point the game will change, just stay in the game as long as possible.”
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Anna Sandberg's cross goes straight through the City goal but no one can catch it, leaving the United fans groaning.
“Everyone talks about momentum, what is it?” says Brierley. “The crowd gets involved, you feel like you're playing a lot better, it has to come from within. Ultimately the momentum is just a feeling of confidence, one goal gets you back into the game.”
Just when you think United can hold out until the break, City spring into action as Bunny Shaw strikes from close range to double their lead in the 43rd minute.
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“Before, if things weren't going well, I was under pressure or lacking confidence, I didn't really want the ball,” Brierley says. “Whereas Jess might have made 10 mistakes but she still wants the ball all the time. I tell her, 'Don't ever lose it because I've never had it.'
But City are lethal and within minutes they strike again, this time it's Puck's good friend Lauren Hamp with a beauty to give City a 3-0 lead at the break.
Brierley had to come on a lot in the second half and had a mountain to climb. In his experience, he tries not to rush into the game right away.
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“Achieve consistency in everything you do, gain confidence, and perhaps you will achieve your goal,” he says. “Take your time because you will start making more mistakes and become more open-minded.”
In the second half, City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita saved Park's shot off the post, but by the 74th minute her job was done and she was replaced by Rachel Williams.
“She'll be devastated, it's been a tough day,” Brierley says. “When you find yourself in a situation like this against your former team, you think the world has collapsed.”
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After every game, no matter how it went, Brierley sends Puck the same message: “Are you okay?”
“Consistency is the key to success,” he says. “Everyone texts you when you're playing well. You don't get many messages when you have a nightmare on TV. Check your phone when you're playing poorly, it's a different story.”
“I'll make sure she doesn't sulk. She will, because we all do. But you have to deal with it.”
Brierley will turn Park's attention to the next game as United build momentum as they travel to Germany to play Wolfsburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.
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“The best thing about sports is that there’s always another game,” he says. Her focus will be on getting her body and mind into the best possible condition. “How can I improve? As I've gotten older I've learned not to worry too much about the previous game, Jess has already acquired that quality. It took me a while but she seems to be progressing quite quickly.”
For Brierley, he is always looking to the future as he reaches the latter stages of his rugby career. He just joined the athletic director department and likes the idea of a director of football roles. He has no desire to play other sports and enjoys working in women's football, describing it as “authentic”, “raw” and “real”.
“I have a passion for helping people,” he says. “These players need a lot more help in the game in terms of representation and mentorship because the game is just taking it to another level.”
This article originally appeared in Athletic.
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