Broncos won’t stop White chasing NRL’s top job

Brisbane chair Karl Morris has cleared the way for Paul White to take charge of the NRL.

Paul White has been chief executive of the NRL’s richest club for 10 years Picture: AAP

Brisbane chairman Karl Morris has cleared the way for Paul White to take charge of the NRL after insisting the Broncos would not stand in his way should he decide to throw his hat in the ring to replace Todd Greenberg.

White, coming to the end of his 10th year at Brisbane, put out a statement through the Broncos on Tuesday morning suggesting his full focus would be on his club duties at a time when the code is grappling with the financial impact of COVID-19.

That hasn’t stopped discussion that he is among the leading contenders to replace Greenberg, his cause given a boost on Tuesday when another of the men assumed to be a leading contender — Accor chief operating officer Simon McGrath — ruled himself out of the running.

ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys has been charged with plotting the way forward and while there is no rush, he is expected to spend coming weeks formulating a plan to find Greenberg’s successor.

Acting chief executive Andrew Abdo is in the box seat, having taken charge of his first management meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

He will be involved in talks with the broadcasters over the remainder of this week and provided the NRL achieves a positive outcome, his position will be strengthened.

Abdo has been given the opportunity to steer the game through the coronavirus crisis, but White shapes as a viable alternative given his decade-long tenure at the helm of the Broncos.

White, who has deep-seated connections to the game, has helped the club maintain its standing as the game’s financial powerhouse during that time.

He is off contract at the end of the year and while there have been suggestions he could extend his stay in Brisbane, the NRL job may be enough to lure him to Sydney.

“It is not appropriate for me to talk about our chief executive until we make an ASX announcement,” Morris said.

“Paul has publicly said that with what is happening, there may be an opportunity for him to go a bit longer than his contract (at the Broncos).

“He has run the biggest club in the NRL.

“It is a complicated business with lots of stakeholders. You have to be a diplomat, you have to be a businessperson.

“It is a pretty unique job and he has done it pretty successfully at our joint. His current contract finishes in October and if he wanted to apply for it (NRL chief executive job), we would as best we could facilitate it.

“He has been at the Broncos for 10 years. We want him to enjoy an ongoing successful career. We wouldn’t stand in his way.”

White did his best to silence the debate on Tuesday via a statement released by the Broncos.

“His sole focus is on getting the Broncos through this unprecedented time in our history, and ensuring rugby league returns to the field as quickly as possible,” the statement said.

“Nor will he be doing any media until after there is a definitive way forward for the completion and all details have been finalised.

“Paul thanks you for your interest but he has done a range of media over recent weeks and now wants to focus on his job at the Broncos.”

The commission have time on their side. There will be no shortage of interested parties – along with White, South Sydney boss Blake Solly, NSW Rugby League chief executive David Trodden, Melbourne’s Dave Donaghy and Canberra’s Donnie Furner have been mooted as contenders for the post.

One man who won’t be chasing the job is McGrath. Having missed out to Greenberg four years ago, he got on the front foot on Tuesday morning as he contracted media outlets to distance himself from the role.

“My position is that whilst I acknowledge the NRL role is so critical and worthwhile to our community, I am not interested,” he said.

“My role heading Accor Hotels, as the leading hotel operator, is one that I remain very loyal to. Now, more than ever, I have a responsibility to lead.

“That being said Accor Hotels has a very deep history with the NRL and we intend to play a major role in the rebuild of the code.”