Parramatta Eels salary cap: NRL boss Todd Greenberg showed the tough leadership the job requires, writes Rebecca Wilson

IN recent weeks, many observers believed Todd Greenberg might not be up to the job. He emphatically refuted that notion on Tuesday, writes Rebecca Wilson.

NRL boss Todd Greenberg gave an assured performance on Tuesday.

IN recent weeks, many observers believed Todd Greenberg might not be up to the job.

He had the pedigree, the experience and the smarts. But where the hell was he when it mattered? The referees were busted and his baby, the bunker, was showered in a hail of bullets.

His chairman, John Grant, looked to have picked up Greenberg’s ball and run with it. Where the bloody hell was Todd?

On Tuesday, he answered that question emphatically and told us why he is the new boss of the National Rugby League.

NRL boss Todd Greenberg gave an assured performance on Tuesday.

Eat your hearts out, David Gallop and Dave Smith. Greenberg’s defining moment came six weeks into his tenure when he lined up the Parramatta Eels in measured, disciplined fashion. He left that club, and the rest of the league community, in no doubt that the sport has a leader who will take no prisoners, who can stand up to the most powerful of enemies and who will inflict punishment when it is most needed.

Greenberg’s performance on Monday did not feature one um, one ah or a single moment of awkward silence while he grappled for an answer. He was not reaching for his notes, a delicious change after Smith who spent his life bumbling for answers.

Unlike Gallop, who delivered the verdict on the Storm with his weight resting firmly on the shoulders of his superiors at News Limited, Greenberg was sure of his call, certain that the Eels deserved their penance.

In Greenberg, the Eels have finally met their match — a leader who doesn’t care what the powerful club thinks or how much it tries to worm out of the hole it has dug itself.

Above all, he has overseen an end to a regimen of cheating that is wide ranging and incredible in its scope. The Eels have thumbed their noses at justice and fair play for many years. They must know now that surely it’s over.

The other 15 clubs are now on notice. They have a leader who will not turn a blind eye or be afraid of coming forward for fear of offending a powerful club official.

There is much to be done but Greenberg has signalled he has what others before him have lacked — a bit of chutzpah, a firm hand and no fear. Yes, sing it league fans. Allelujah.