Lost in isolation: last drinks for NRL chief

Peter V’landys won’t be the NRL’s new executive leader but having overseen the decision to part ways with Todd Greenberg, he now has no choice but to play the role of saviour.

Former NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg has a beer after being stood down on Monday. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Peter V’landys won’t be the NRL’s new executive leader but he now has no choice but to play the role of saviour.

Having overseen the decision to part ways with chief executive Todd Greenberg on Monday morning, there is no question who has their hand on the NRL tiller.

V’landys was already front and centre in talks with the game’s broadcasters, the Nine Network in particular having been critical of the NRL and reluctant to deal with Greenberg.

The clubs had also become increasingly frustrated with Greenberg, and V’landys — the chief executive of Racing NSW — felt he had no choice but to intervene as the fault lines grew wider between the clubs, the broadcasters and Rugby League Central.

Chief commercial officer Andrew Abdo will take over in an acting capacity while the game conducts a search for a new chief executive.

Australian Rugby League Commissioner Peter V'landys. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Abdo, who grew up in South Africa, will be among the favourites to run the NRL’s $500m-plus business, along with club bosses Dave Donaghy and Paul White, NSW Rugby League chief executive David Trodden and Accor chief operating officer Simon ­McGrath.

The suspicion for some time was that V’landys would eventually take over the reins. That won’t be the case. He has been prominent through their current period but yearns to take a back seat. He won’t do that until he has the game back on course.

“I would be a hypocrite (if I became executive chair) because I believe the board and management are two different components of corporate governance,” V’landys told The Australian.

“To have an executive chairman would be against my corporate governance model. The board has to have arm’s length from management.

“That is why Andrew Abdo was immediately appointed as chief executive because I have no interest whatsoever in being executive chairman.”

Asked whether he would be interested in leaving Racing NSW to take over running of the NRL, V’landys said: “Not at all. I am not interested one iota. I am happy to do what I am doing at the moment.

“Once we get everything back on par, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get the game future-proofed, fix the cost structure so it is around for another 100 years. This train crash was going to happen at some time but it was brought forward by the coronavirus.”

Greenberg was appointed the NRL’s chief executive in 2016 on a salary of $1.2m plus bonuses and his contract, renewed in 2017, was up at the end of this season.

Greenberg said on Monday it had been a “great honour” to be NRL chief.

“Despite the challenges and pressures, I have loved every single minute of the journey. Our growth over the last four years has been extraordinary and I am very proud of my contribution to the game.”