ARLC meet to decide Todd Greenberg’s fate as NRL CEO
There are a number of issues pushing against Todd Greenberg’s contract extension, but if the NRL CEO loses his job when the ARLC meet to decide his fate the beginning of the end can be traced back to one moment, writes PAUL KENT.
Opinion
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A year ago an ARL Commissioner lamented Todd Greenberg’s legacy might one day be the expensive diamond ring he presented to Cameron Smith’s wife Barb and now it looks like a prophecy.
Greenberg’s fate as NRL boss got closer to being decided, and over, on Monday night.
Under the cloak of secrecy an ARL Commission subcommittee comprising chairman Peter V’landys and Dr Gary Weiss and Wayne Pearce met on Monday night to discuss Greenberg’s future.
Earlier that day, Greenberg was across town in a meeting with News Corp (publisher of The Daily Telegraph) executive chairman Michael Miller.
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The NRL boss has a contract until October but a clause for a two-year extension that was due to be activated last month.
The deadline has come and gone and, as the meeting drifted into the long hours on Monday, the future of the game’s boss was still being considered just days before the season begins.
It is a tough time for many.
Greenberg and V’Landys are barely speaking at the moment.
A online poll published on Monday revealed support among the 16 NRL clubs was overwhelmingly in favour of V’Landys ahead of Greenberg.
Among the complaints from some clubs, which range from large to trivial, is the NRL’s undisclosed gift to Smith’s wife last season.
The tremendous debate it sparked immediately after highlights the lightning rod nature of his position.
That the Commission was unaware of the gift until it was being presented, that the NRL did not disclose the gift among the other gifts bestowed on Smith, damaged Greenberg’s standing as chief executive.
Some argued, quite legitimately, that in a season that followed a poor off-season for the NRL and its treatment of women, a gift to the wife of the game’s greatest player was a nice touch.
The NRL argued that a 400-game ring for Smith after he already had a 300-game ring was unnecessary and a gift to his wife instead was more considerate.
But players now collect rings. Rings symbolise their success.
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After the Roosters repeated as premiers last year nobody from the NRL suggested, for instance, that the players’ wives should instead get rings to avoid doubling up.
The debate brings home the sensitive politics of the position.
No NRL boss has been more immediately accountable to the game’s fans as Greenberg.
Market research suggests NRL fans are more rabid than fans of Australia’s other big sporting codes, an area Greenberg has found difficult to navigate.
Among the questions being considered was is there a better choice?
The NRL marks fans in terms of couch potato fans, super fans and avid fans, with the avid fans tending towards the extreme end.
The last kind are those who fill up your inbox Monday mornings.
Research says the NRL has a higher percentage of avid fans compared to other major sporting codes, the AFL and certainly cricket.
That is the price of the job.
Greenberg believes he has earned himself a tick in most key areas.
Last week’s $30 million profit was downgraded from $40 million after the League decided to commit an extra $10 million to grassroots.
While women’s numbers have boosted the overall figure, participation numbers among males is down.
Television figures are strong in a falling market.
Government funding, with a new stadium launched in Townsville on Friday, and three new stadiums being built in Sydney, is another area Greenberg counts in the profit column.
Greenberg has tried hard to be a popular leader, taking political stances even when the game did not need it, which has backfired among the game’s heartland fans.
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Greenberg’s future will not be formalised until the Commission meets on March 19.
Greenberg would not comment on Monday night.
His best outcome would be for the Commission to activate the two-year extension but that is appearing increasingly unlikely.
From there the appeal fades.
The Commission could take no action and give Greenberg until October to show he can work under the direction V’Landys and the Commission are determined to take.
The third and most dramatic is for there to be no extension and for Greenberg to leave immediately.
Much is still to happen in the next nine days, but that is where the smart money sits.
Originally published as ARLC meet to decide Todd Greenberg’s fate as NRL CEO