Once a Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative, Ribot was the 1980 NSWRFL season's equal top try-scorer.
Ribot played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership for Western Suburbs and Fortitude Valley.
It was while at Western Suburbs in 1980 that Magpies coach Roy Masters moved Ribot from his normal position of Lock forward and utilized his speed on the Wing.
[3] Before the introduction of State of Origin selection rules Ribot represented both Queensland in 1977, then New South Wales in 1978 under the residential criteria.
[6] The turning point was the decision by the NSWRL to sack him from its Premiership Policy Committee in 1993 when he proposed shifting the grand final to the Broncos new home ground, the ANZ Stadium which had a spectator capacity of almost 60,000.
An exponent of national and even international expansion of rugby league,[7] Ribot found News Ltd a willing participant in forming an elite, rival competition in the mid-1990s.
Ribot partially realised his 'vision' in getting the competition up and running in 1997 then resigned as Super League chief executive on 24 June to help facilitate a peace deal being reached with the ARL.
Ribot's single-minded battle for acceptance in an Aussie rules-dominated city saw the Storm part company with premiership-winning coach Chris Anderson in 2001, and ultimately appoint not only legendary coach Craig Bellamy but Hall of Fame playing quartet Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Greg Inglis, who would collectively win multiple titles for the Storm over the next two decades.