Has hubris got the better of Peter V’landys?

[A Country Member]

Has hubris got the better of Peter V’landys?

While he once zinged in trademark style to a similar question -
"is that the bloke who runs the local fruit shop?"

For all of his achievements I feel he has slipped onto the negative side of the ledger in recent times and bad decisions have outweighed the good.

• Extracted revenue from bookmakers who trade on NRL
• Sacked CEO Todd Greenberg for Andrew Abdo
• Got the season going in the midst of COVID outbreak
• Renegotiated the broadcast rights in the middle of COVID outbreak for much less than their worth
• Implemented 6 again set restarts for penalties
• Introduced 17th team, Redcliff Dolphins
• Reduced costs at NRL HQ
• Increased revenue
• Bought assets for the ARL
• Launched NRL season in Las Vegas, USA
• Brought back the Bears with assist from WA govt
• Gave Perth a coach and ceo out of their depth and 2 years to get team together
• Extracted a deal with the federal govt to fund PNG team
• Sacked, hired and poached PNG administrators that includes a gossip journo Michael Chammas
• Change fabric of game by letting team who got scored on the choice to kick or receive

Theres probably more (please add) and you can make your mind up if these are good or bad.

Whilst the bottom line has improved, at what cost to the so called ‘greatest game of all’ with rash changes in an effort to extract more dollars out of governments, stakeholders, sponsors, broadcasters and punters alike.

His actions could be likened to many Ancient Greek mythology about the feared sin of hubris: Icarus, Tantalus, Sisyphus - with Uncle Nick being the almighty Zeus or father like Daedalus. And being a noted Greek Australian, he should be aware of such dangers.

[mightyrooster]

I think he’s going too far with his attempts to change the rules and whole fabric of the game.

[Bates]

Just wait till he introduces 4 by 25 minute quarters. More content = More revenue.

[Sentimentinel]

I don't know if its him or the coaches but the game in general is boring these days.

All teams seem to attack the same, defend etc.

Origin is a good example of the point I'm trying to make, it just comes across as a faster club game without the origin feel of years gone past.

Apart from the highlights of last season of a bloke from union who pulled off some wacky things, I find the footy quite forgettable.

At least Penrith didn't win again?

Yawn.

[bondi paul]

The Roosters three peat chance negated and the bondi wall demolished when the dictator of the ARL and NRL came to power weeks after the 2019 GF officiated by 2 refs !

[David Sutherland]

Be interesting to see what the next broadcast deal will be as the current one expires in 2027. Be expectations of a sizeable increase - The current one was 2 billion over 5 years - 400 mill a season - AFL's current one is 4.5 billion over 7 years - roughly 642 mill a season - NRL are supposedly after 5 billion probably over 7 years as well - roughly 714 million a season - players will be rubbing their hands if this occurs - ka-ching


Not heard anything further about the proposed Global Round in 2027 when it's an 18 team comp - Roosters in Los Angeles perhaps? - Paris even

New Zealand will host game 2 of the Men's State of Origin Game in 2027 - The New Zealand Government reportedly paid 5 million to secure the game.
New Zealand will also likely host a Women's State of Origin game in either 2026 or 2027 in Christchurch

I would say the NRL's preferred 20th team would be a New Zealand one based in Christchurch rather than a 5th Queensland Team ?

Possibility of a State of Origin game in London - Wembley Stadium and even Stade de France perhaps down the track - US ? - ka-ching

Set restarts are controversial but would you want to go back to a penalty instead and the team awarded the penalty having a mini committee meeting in what to do before deciding to kick the ball backwards into touch and waste close to a minute or so of game time?

Too late to get rid of set restarts now especially when the NRL are wanting a faster game and the ball in play longer so they can squeeze more dollars out of broadcasters and sponsors plus supporters. - Probably need to change it from the Greatest Game of All to the Fastest Game of All

No word as yet on if any of the proposed rule changes will be implemented - will have to decide soon as Pre-season trials start Feb 7 (2 games) and the comp starts on 1st Match.

[caz]

i don't follow footy admin closely enough to know either way and to what extent he's responsible for every decision that the game makes.
there's the feeling that the nrlw had been handled pretty well but they've gone for a couple more teams than the game can cope with and now it's a two horse race

[A Country Member]

Two more good points:

• The scrapping of the two ref
• NRLW rise

thanks for adding

[A Country Member]

I get the feeling he hasn’t got over when Hugh Marks grabbed him by the balls in April 2020 and got him to accept a reduced deal ($50m !!) and then forced him to make changes to the product.

As a result he is desperately trying to claw back the lost dosh through any means necessary, most notably increasing the size of the competition to boost the next broadcast deal to as close to the AFLs as possible.

The two new teams are in major trouble:

• Bears

1. putting a coach who hasn’t overseen an NRL in over 20 years
2. putting a CEO in who doesn’t know the product and is an hated ex employee of the only newspaper in town and the major competitors broadcaster
3. Not allowing an inflated salary cap to acquire players in two years

• PNG

1. Haven’t got a ground to play at
2. Haven’t got much else except government cash
3. Just hired a league gossip journo to run the team

You can’t make this shit up

[The Brain]

Has hubris got the better of Peter V’landys?

While he once zinged in trademark style to a similar question -
"is that the bloke who runs the local fruit shop?"

For all of his achievements I feel he has slipped onto the negative side of the ledger in recent times and bad decisions have outweighed the good.

• Extracted revenue from bookmakers who trade on NRL
• Sacked CEO Todd Greenberg for Andrew Abdo
• Got the season going in the midst of COVID outbreak
• Renegotiated the broadcast rights in the middle of COVID outbreak for much less than their worth
• Implemented 6 again set restarts for penalties
• Introduced 17th team, Redcliff Dolphins
• Reduced costs at NRL HQ
• Increased revenue
• Bought assets for the ARL
• Launched NRL season in Las Vegas, USA
• Brought back the Bears with assist from WA govt
• Gave Perth a coach and ceo out of their depth and 2 years to get team together
• Extracted a deal with the federal govt to fund PNG team
• Sacked, hired and poached PNG administrators that includes a gossip journo Michael Chammas
• Change fabric of game by letting team who got scored on the choice to kick or receive

Theres probably more (please add) and you can make your mind up if these are good or bad.

Whilst the bottom line has improved, at what cost to the so called ‘greatest game of all’ with rash changes in an effort to extract more dollars out of governments, stakeholders, sponsors, broadcasters and punters alike.

His actions could be likened to many Ancient Greek mythology about the feared sin of hubris: Icarus, Tantalus, Sisyphus - with Uncle Nick being the almighty Zeus or father like Daedalus. And being a noted Greek Australian, he should be aware of such dangers.

He Didn'tquite all negotiate the season to start the NRL would've gone into Bankruptcy...someone else helped facilitate that for him.That was both their biggest move . Borring money to survive through Covid .
6 again is not a good rule..maybe exciting etc but its causing all this head knocks chaos . Taking no responsibility or care for the players just making the bucks and I would give him credit for that. Comp is not ready for 2 new teams just a bigger income stream is its only worth.
Even the Assets buying business acumen belongs to our mystery facilitator knowhow.

[David Sutherland]

Both Perth and PNG will be successes but not overnight of course but the game has to expand outside it's base - PNG is the only country where Rugby League is the National Sport for starters so no problems with them joining the NRL comp as the 19th team.

AFL are targeting the Asian Market and especially India - Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam compete in the Asian Championships.

It's about targeting the right markets and growing the game from the grass root levels up

Rugby League has to get into high schools and colleges in the US as otherwise it won't ever get a foot hold and advance as a sport in what many consider the biggest sport market in the world.

[bondi.boy]

I think he’s going too far with his attempts to change the rules and whole fabric of the game.

Amen.

[SupermanSupportsEasts4Eva]

He and Abdo should stick to running the back office and the budget, and keep their hands off the rules. Go back to the rules of the 90s early 2000s IMO.

[bondi paul]

Two more good points:

• The scrapping of the two ref
• NRLW rise

thanks for adding

Your mention of the rule changes after Marks got the better of the dictator with the tv deal and the rule changes that followed had a stench about it being included in the deal - so the dictator had a sense of a win. I mentioned the quota ages ago and the crack pots attacked my point. Over time it’s even more apparent and the dictator now scared his media partners will collude against him in the new deal but it’s a guarantee Ch 9 will be the mainstay if he doesn’t carry out his trump like threat to do a deal with an independent broadcaster or free to air network. The business focus is free to air = more revenue.

[A Country Member]

Your mention of the rule changes after Marks got the better of the dictator with the tv deal and the rule changes that followed had a stench about it being included in the deal - so the dictator had a sense of a win. I mentioned the quota ages ago and the crack pots attacked my point. Over time it’s even more apparent and the dictator now scared his media partners will collude against him in the new deal but it’s a guarantee Ch 9 will be the mainstay if he doesn’t carry out his trump like threat to do a deal with an independent broadcaster or free to air network. The business focus is free to air = more revenue.

From April 9, 2020 (when the game was paused due to Covid)

But with the game’s administrators preparing to announce the shape and timing of a resumed season, Nine has delivered an extraordinary shot at League Central on Thursday.

“At Nine we had hoped to work with the NRL on a solution to the issues facing rugby league in 2020, brought on so starkly by COVID-19,” said a spokesperson for Nine, the owner of The Sydney Morning Herald.

“But this health crisis in our community has highlighted the mismanagement of the code over many years. Nine has invested hundreds of millions in this game over decades and we now find they have profoundly wasted those funds with very little to fall back on to support the clubs, the players and supporters. In the past the NRL have had problems and we’ve bailed them out many times including a $50m loan to support clubs when the last contract was signed.

“It would now appear that much of that has been squandered by a bloated head office completely ignoring the needs of the clubs, players and supporters.

"We now find ourselves with a contract that is unfulfilled by the code. We hoped we could talk though a long-term plan."

The attack will add to fears Nine could walk away from the game after a decades-long association with rugby league.

The company announced to the stock exchange last week that it would save $130m if the sport did not resume this year because of COVID-19 as it outlined plans to shave $266m from its costs.

Marks, who was unveiled as CEO at Willoughby in the same month that the NRL’s $1.8 billion television deal with Nine and Foxtel was signed in November 2015, has also in the past made clear his belief that broadcasters can no longer afford to bid exorbitant amounts for sports rights if it is not profitable

The NRL’s current agreements with Nine, Foxtel and Telstra, which began in 2018, run until 2022. Foxtel’s deal is worth about $1 billion, or $200m a year, while Nine signed up to pay a reported $625m over the life of the contract, or $125m a year.

Neither company paid their quarterly instalments last week after the competition was put on hold following advice from the NRL’s biosecurity expert.