Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: V’landys’ call on NRL future, Des ‘21%’ Hasler safe for now at the Titans
Peter V’landys quashes a rumour around his NRL future, Des Hasler has been given the full support of the board, what stinks about the finals venue change, and more in Saint, Sinner, Shoosh.
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Peter V’landys has quashed speculation he wants to join the NRL in a full-time role as an escape from Racing NSW.
The independent commission boss told me here at Magic Round that he’s “100 per cent not interested” despite the enormous challenges the NRL is facing over the next 12 months.
So much is happening in rugby league around negotiations on a multibillion-dollar TV broadcast deal, expansion to Western Australia and PNG, the management of four major hotel assets, and the possible purchase of Britain’s Super League on top of the day-to-day running of the sport.
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“I’ll decide what I’m doing at the end of the year. But if I left Racing NSW, I’d just continue on as the chairman of the NRL,” V’landys said.
“I’m not interested in doing it full-time. Andrew Abdo is a brilliant operator. He doesn’t need someone like me breathing down his neck 24/7.
“You’ve got to have one person leading the staff and that’s Andrew. He’s such a good operator, top shelf, and we work very well together. I wouldn’t jeopardise that.
“In fact, I’ll repeat: I’m 100 per cent not interested.”
There had been talk around the game since the beginning of the year of the possibility of V’landys joining Abdo at Moore Park headquarters in the role of an executive chairman.
This isn’t to say Abdo is struggling under a mounting workload.
It’s just that his role and responsibilities have grown so significantly in a business that now has an annual turnover of $744m and is growing all the time.
Hence the thought that V’landys could come on full-time.
The game might be in its strongest position ever, but there are still challenges ahead and important issues that need to be dealt with such as a transfer window, player-manager reform, the bunker, the playing schedule and Origin eligibility rules.
When we spoke about his future in Las Vegas in late February, V’landys told me that the job of running both sports was becoming increasingly demanding.
That he’d have to make a choice sooner rather than later. But the man is a workaholic and insisted he had made no decision as to his future at Racing NSW.
He has done a sensational job with racing but the past 12 months have been particularly spiteful and tough on him personally with bitter opposition from industry heavyweights around the sale of Rosehill racecourse.
“I want to stress that I haven’t made up my mind around racing,” he said.
“I’ll decide what I want to do at the end of the year. That’s what I do every year.”
SAINT
The women’s State of Origin game. It’s hard to believe the 34 players were playing out-of-competition. It was such a fantastic exhibition of skill, finesse and power. The women’s game is growing at such a great rate. Imagine in 10 years when every club has an NRLW team. The only downer on Thursday night was having to watch it on Channel 9 with all the advertisements.
SINNER
A former international, Origin and NRL player was asked to leave a hotel in Wollongong last week for his loud and obnoxious behaviour. This guy is a menace on the drink and has lived his life in denial for many years, refusing help from old teammates and friends to get himself sorted.
SPOTTED
Airline price gouging on flights to Brisbane is the one thing you can guarantee on Magic Round weekend. A Qantas return flight from Sydney, leaving at 2.05pm on Friday and returning on Sunday at 8.45pm, would have set you back an outrageous $2372, the price of a trip to Europe. The same flights next weekend are $613.
SPOTTED
Times are obviously tough at all media organisations, including here at News Corp. Daily Telegraph rugby league scribe Brent Read has been saving on his Magic Round expenses by brushing taxis and Ubers to get around Brisbane on a cheaper mode of transport - a Lime scooter.
SPOTTED
Peter V’landys sitting next to Wayne Bennett at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night for the women’s State of Origin game. We wonder if they discussed the high tackle crackdown that the old supercoach described as “absolute rubbish” last week.
SHOOSH
Which senior journalist turned up to the NRL’s media dinner in Brisbane on Wednesday night (dress code: business attire) looking like he’d just walked off the golf course.
SHOOSH
Which international star has now rejected multiple requests for on-field post-game radio and TV interviews? It coincides with a massive form slump for the usually chatty star.
SHOOSH
What is it about old rugby league wingers that makes a great coach? New Wallabies coach Les Kiss was a winger at the North Sydney Bears. Six-time premier coach Wayne Bennett played for Australia on the wing. Test winger Chris Anderson coached Australia and the Bulldogs and Storm to premierships. And Johnny King, the legendary St George winger, coached Western Division to a miraculous Amco Cup triumph back in 1974. Even Michael Maguire played a handful of games on the wing in his 16-game first grade career at the Raiders and Adelaide Rams.
COAST EROSION AS TITANS OUTSHONE
The Titans insist veteran coach Des Hasler’s job is safe despite his terrible 21.2 per cent win record and pressure building on the Gold Coast in a code war against the AFL.
While the Titans’ home crowds have slumped by 16.2 per cent in the past two years, the Gold Coast Suns are up 24.6 per cent over the same period as Australia’s biggest footy codes fight a battle on the glitter strip to win over casual fans.
The Suns are sitting third on the AFL ladder, while the Titans are struggling in 14th place.
Titans chief executive Steve Mitchell insisted Hasler’s job was safe and secure.
“There’s pressure on us, but not on Des,” Mitchell said. “It’s up to the playing group to turn up and perform. That’s not lost on them.
“There’s pressure from your fan base and pressure from your stakeholders but Des is not under any pressure at all.”
The AFL rivalry, however, is a concern on the Gold Coast.
The Suns have finally emerged as a genuine premiership threat on the back of the AFL’s big-money strategic investment since they entered the competition in 2011.
The Suns received $34.8m in funding from the AFL last year while the Titans got half of that, $17m, in their annual NRL grant.
“We need to be careful, as a game, where the AFL takes a very strategic view to new markets in the likes of greater western Sydney and the Gold Coast, where they invest significantly,” Mitchell said.
“It’s not a short-term strategic plan. It’s over decades in markets that aren’t traditionally theirs. We need to be mindful of that as a code.
“It’s an interesting topic between both franchises on the Gold Coast to win the hearts and minds of the public.
“We’re fortunate that we’re in a rugby league heartland through juniors and participation, but there’s no doubt we’ve got some work to do on field to deliver more success for the fans that follow us.”
As for Hasler, he has next year to run on his contract.
The Titans have a long history of sacking underperforming coaches, with the likes of Neil Henry, Garth Brennan and Justin Holbrook having been marched in the past eight years.
Despite the backing of Mitchell, whether Hasler would be able to overturn things and break the cycle remains to be seen.
BIG BREKKY
Catch you on the Weekend Big Sports Breakfast with Ray Thomas and Dean ‘Bulldog’ Ritchie to chat about all the big issues in rugby league from here at Magic Round.
DAFFY A BIG LOSS
Betting guru Gerard Daffy is retiring as an odds spruiker for the TAB at Sky Sports Radio following staff cuts at the network after 52 years in the bookmaking business.
Daffy worked at his first race meeting in country Victoria as a 16-year-old.
He joined Centrebet, Australia’s first licensed sports and online bookmaker, in 1993 and framed the first ever federal election market the year Paul Keating beat John Hewson.
He is a champion bloke who will be missed in the media and sports betting industry.
A HUNGRY T-REX
Former Manly, Bulldogs and Parramatta Eels NRL star Tony ‘T Rex’ Williams is making another rugby league comeback. T-Rex last played in the NRL at the Parramatta Eels in 2018.
He’s now signed with the Narellan Jets in the Group 6 Macarthur competition.
He played for Australia and Tonga in internationals.
AN UTTER DISGRACE
Everyone knows the NRL draw is unfair and lacks integrity. Some teams have three five-day turnarounds, some have none.
Some teams play the weaker teams more often than others. Some teams have to travel way further than others.
Now the NRL wants to penalise Cronulla and Manly by moving the first week of finals away from suburban grounds and robbing them of a home ground advantage that they’ve fought all year to get. It stinks.
IT’S NOT JUST CRICKET FOR FANS
Aussie cricket fans won’t get to see the World championship final between Australia and South Africa at Lords in June on a traditional TV network.
The match is not included on the government’s anti-siphoning list which left the door ajar for global giant Amazon to come in over the top of local free-to-air television networks and Fox Sports.
The deal was done by the ICC with Amazon last month.
It is a huge blow for Aussie cricket fans to have to sign up with another streaming network for just five days of cricket.
Radio network SEN is sending its own commentary team to the UK to cover the game.
The station is also sending a team to the Wests Indies late in June and July.
WALSH GRASPS RESPONSIBILITY
In his younger days Reece Walsh was as vulnerable as any young NRL player.
Now the superstar Broncos fullback has grown into a far more mature individual and understands his responsibilities on the big stage.
Walsh showed he can be a real ambassador at the NRL’s official Magic Round launch on Thursday where he was at Suncorp Stadium representing the Brisbane Broncos, alongside players from all other teams.
When he was introduced to take the stage for the launch, Walsh made a point of shaking the hands of all the corporate heavyweights and dignitaries.
It was a deliberate and telling gesture that impressed NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo.
THE BETTER HALF with Adam Clydsdale, partner of Women’s NSW State of Origin second-rower Yasmin Clydsdale
The Women’s State of Origin series is broadcast live and exclusive on Channel Nine.
Having played in the NRL almost a decade ago, did you ever think your partner would be an NRLW superstar in her own right when you were at the height of your career?
Yasmin was playing Aussie touch football at the time, so I thought she would continue with that, but always knew she had the aggression for league.
What is it like watching from the sidelines? Is it ever hard to just sit and watch Yasmin?
I probably get more nervous watching her play than when I play. She is such a great competitor and I’m very proud of her. I see how hard she works and how much dedication she has, so you just want to see her succeed.
How’s the dynamic of having two professional athletes under the same roof?
It’s a very competitive household. I don’t think we can even play cards together. Everything ends up being a competition in our household.
Where did the two of you meet?
We met through my roommate at the time, Joe Tapine who was dating her best friend Kirsten when I was playing for the Newcastle Knights. They set us up on a blind date.
First date?
First date was actually just at my house that I recently purchased. I was probably trying to show off a bit but probably wasn’t much of a house to brag about. We just watched a movie, I took her out for our second date just to a local pub and the rest is history I suppose.
What would Yasmin be suited to if she wasn’t in the NRLW?
Yasmin has a PDHPE degree which she loves and is very good with children. And she has just started a business with Olivia Higgins called Future Fierce where she gets to run rugby league clinics.
What chores does she do around the house?
Yasmin is a bit of a neat freak so she pretty much does most things and doesn’t let me do them or I do a bad job at it so she won’t let me do it.
What’s the worst gift she’s ever given you?
Yasmin is great with gifts. I’m probably not so much. I once gave her a coupon booklet for her birthday which I don’t think she liked too much.
What’s her mood like after a loss? Whose mood was worse?
Yasmin gets pretty upset and emotional after a loss, I think we were about even though. We are both pretty competitive people and don’t like to lose.
- Tyson Jackson
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