Doubts raised over new NRL COO Suzanne Young's lack of rugby league administration experience New NRL COO Suzanne Young meets the media for the first time. SHE has an impeccable business resume but the NRL's new chief operating officer has absolutely no experience in rugby league administration. In fact, businesswoman Suzanne Young's only grapple with rugby league was a broken nose as a kid while playing at lunchtime in a small Riverina country town. Young's appointment has continued the NRL's strong push for more females in the game. In the commercial sector, Young has held senior executive positions at Leighton Holdings Limited, Commonwealth Bank, Qantas and Unisys Corporation. She has previously coached netball, softball and hockey and is now with Clovelly nippers. She was also Australian Surf Life Saver of the Year in 1996 and became one of Surf Life Saving Australia's first independent directors in 2010. But her rugby league CV is bare. Asked by The Daily Telegraph if she had any rugby league administration experience, Young said: "Not in rugby league administration but I certainly have in other sports administration, in terms of surf and I will apply the skills I have learnt both through surf life saving as a volunteer, but also with my corporate skills. I am a fan of the game (NRL), I go to games, I take my children to games. NRL CEO Dave Smith says Young's role is about "corporate services." She then stressed: "I have a sports background, sport is part of my DNA. I have had an extensive sports background through boarding school, university and continued that today. My children play sport so I have been a participant and a coach, I have been a manager and an official in sport. NRL chief executive Dave Smith was unconcerned Young didn't have a rugby league background. Has the NRL selected the right COO? "We have over 100 years experience in (our) football department and that's where I'd expect the football issues to be dealt with," Smith said. This is about helping steer the organisation across corporate services. Suzanne is uniquely qualified for that. This is a corporate services job. We are a very big organisation, we are a $3 billion corporation. Dave Smith is unconcerned about Young's lack of rugby league experience. The NRL wants more women in the game, but some clubs privately question that edict. Young is currently on the board of St Joseph's College Foundation and is the chair of its Indigenous Education Fund. She has also worked in numerous business sectors, including finance, HR, procurement, property, payroll, IT, warehouses, logistics and transport. Young is a mother of three teenage boys and three teenage stepchildren. "We have gone through a fairly extensive search and selection process, we have concluded that process and we have been very lucky to have Suzanne taking the job," Smith said. She had a range of skills across many different businesses and we look forward to her making a significant contribution to the game as it grows and expands. Former COO Jim Doyle left to NRL to return to New Zealand. Suzanne has exceptional management and leadership skills and experience gained from operating at a senior level in global companies. She has been responsible for driving the development of strategy, running the operations and delivering change management programs across diverse industries. Young, who started work at the NRL on Monday, added: "I have been successful in business because of the skills that I have learned in sport such as discipline, courage, team work, inspiring leadership and good communication." Young replaced Jim Doyle, who has returned to the New Zealand Warriors as their CEO. THE NRL's new chief operating officer doesn't "condone" any violence against women. On her first day in the job, Suzanne Young was asked for her thoughts about the suspension and behaviour of South Sydney centre Kirisome Auva'a. "I certainly don't condone it (violence against women)," she said. I think the NRL has had strong position on this. Asked how she thought the NRL dealt with the Auva'a issue, she said: "Well it was certainly dealt with before I started. As you would expect, I need to get across the issues, the challenges, the opportunities in the role, and I start that today. Originally published as League's new lady faces up to the job