Kendall played rugby league for the Newsome Panthers as a child before moving to Huddersfield Giants at academy level.
[5][1] In 2017, he was selected to be a touch judge at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup;[6] earlier that year he had faced some major criticism when the Leigh Centurions owner lambasted referee decisions in the Super League, singling out the first-half performance of Kendall in a match Leigh lost to nothing.
[12] Kendall served as the video referee for a crucial Super League match in April 2022, controversially overturning two early decisions, putting defending champions St Helens behind (they came back to win).
[13] Kendall found himself on the other side of this situation in a July 2022 Magic Weekend match; he initially awarded a late try to Hull KR, which would have seen them win if not controversially overturned by the video referee.
[19] The first episode of Betfred's Rugby League Front Row Heroes short documentary series, produced near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, was about Kendall; in it he described his volunteer work for the NHS and Kirklees Council.