Queue the cliche – “The drums have been beating…”
Todd Greenberg’s resignation from his NRL CEO position late this afternoon has come as little surprise to anybody remotely familiar with rugby league. Once again, when there’s “noise” around a big story in the NRL, it invariably comes to fruition.
Many years ago, during Greenberg’s time at the Bulldogs, the media touted him as the future NRL CEO. They knew his future then and once again they’ve correctly predicted his fate. Have the journos have been reading between the lines, or has there been an insider tipping this outcome? The punters can make up their own mind about that.
Greenberg (photo AAP)
Regardless of how this has come about, it would appear that Greenberg lost any remnants of support. As the weeks unfolded, mainstream media and footy supporters teamed up and hunted him down like police swarming on a non compliant swimmer at Bondi.
Accused of overspending during his time at the helm, Greenberg has now become the face of the NRL’s financial woes. In trying to gain the confidence of the bosses out in club land, as well as the code’s broadcast partners, Greenberg was pushed into the background during recent planning.
Every media appearance by Peter V’Landys seemed to be an unofficial statement that Greenberg was no longer relevant.
How will Greenberg be best remembered? What legacy does he deserve? The creation of the NRL’s digital arm and the most recent broadcasting deal could be seen as feathers in his cap. The bunker has its detractors, but it’s probably here to stay. Unfortunately, overseeing an organisation that couldn’t withstand a couple of months of hardship would not be something he’d want to hang his hat on.
More importantly, where does his departure leave the game?
Interim CEO, Andrew Abdo
With the NRL set to reboot with changes aplenty, this was possibly an ideal opportunity to either appoint or test drive a new CEO. Andrew Abdo has been handed the reins in an interim capacity, and with the media now espousing his credentials, perhaps we should highlight his name as a leading candidate.
This time can be the dawning of a new era for the game. It will bounce back, because the support for rugby league won’t disappear. As soon as a football is kicked around again from May 28, or whatever date eventuates, the audience numbers will explode.
Not too far down the track, there will be big decisions to be made.
We will witness a restructuring of NRL HQ, and there’s likely to be pain aplenty out in club land as jobs are lost and the landscape changes. Strong leadership will be needed. There needs to be a path taken which rights the ship in the short term, then sets sail with a clear vision for the future. The communication to key stakeholders, especially supporters, needs to be low on spin and high on substance.
Early indications are that Peter V’Landys will insist on accountability.
And if accountability becomes the culture within the new administration, it’s a solid foundation to build from.
Eels and NRL forever!
Sixties
Sixties, i have been waiting for this to be posted. While i am ok with him stepping down / resigning, my issue is the replacement. As you correctly pointed out he ‘was touted’ by some as a future leader when at C’bury. I recall saying back then that he was in the job at C’bury for not long and promoted too soon, for whatever reason and that was the error then. He always spoke like a politician and to me never came across as someone to trust. He may be a different person altogether but there were too many decisions that echoed of inconsistency and media spin, and the NRL has become a PC figure rather than about sport.
Those in the media and us as fans need to be careful what they may wish for, as I for one would prefer someone who has been a CEO with a club possibly but also someone who has strong experience outside of the game too and good business sense to smell the rubbish and make the tough calls; lets say an all-rounder who can make tough decisions and stick by them – a Quayle / B Gurr type and i know age may have wearied Quayle but he has the runs (centuries) on the board.
Issues such as TPA’s, player managers, player and club indiscretions have been big on talk and spin but quickly forgotten (for e.g. Flanagan back as assistant coach for one); our game of rugby league should about respect for the game particularly quality past players / coaches / officials yet there has been too many inconsistencies and the bloated admin has now been highlighted.
I agree about your politician observation Milo. I want a strong leader, not a politician.
Michael Jordan is really topical at the moment and to me a quote from him sums up why I think Greenberg had to go.
Jordan said on leadership, “ Nothing of value comes without being earned. That is why great leaders are those who lead by example first. You can’t demand respect because of a title or position and expect people to follow. That might work for a little while, but in the end people respond to what they see”.
What did I see from Greenberg that ultimately made his position untenable. Inconsistency.
The punishments given out under his leadership were so inconsistent, punishments for salary cap breaches changed and rules were inherently inconsistently applied , integrity issues and so dramatically inconsistent subsequent punishments, allowing without stepping in and stopping significant inconsistencies with NRL match review charges and judiciary punishments, even the unfair nature of the draw with certain teams getting preferential treatment week in week out each and every year.
Greenberg said on 28th February 2019 that we the fans could not expect consistency. His tenure was doomed from then on. League is a tribal game, I like league, I love Parra. If fans see inconsistencies they stop trusting the leader. Greenberg lost my trust because he himself admitted he did not value consistency and therefore I did not believe what he said. If a person is not believable by their actions, they are not a leader. Greenberg was good for a little while , with his words, but his inconsistent actions finally caught up with him.
Shelley the inconsistency is a very good point. For someone who spoke a lot about inclusiveness and respect for women he let down one of the player partners while at the Dogs
I think you will find his inconsistencies were for the same reason; to keep power.
At the bulldogs he needed a certain magical outside back to be in the side for them to win and him to look good. So he turned a blind eye. At the NRL he needed league big hitters and leading players to support him so he shifted and changed his views depending on what club and or what player was involved.
Remember when he allowed the integrity unit to support the titans giving Proctor 4 weeks and the Storm giving Bromwich 2 weeks when they got in trouble doing the same thing, at the same time down in Canberra during the Anzac test.
The Storm, who were still owned by News at that stage needed Bromwich and Greenberg tried to convince us all that the punishment was fair and consistent. At that time he could not anger News so he just let it go, much like what he did at the dogs.
His inconsistencies caught up with him as eventually he could not keep pleasing everyone and when he stopped giving in to certain identities they turned on him. Unfortunately he dug his own grave.
Shelley, your point about lack of consistency is an excellent one. To me, that changing of the goalposts is the domain of politics. Ultimately, too many people saw him as a politician. I don’t know the man, I cannot comment on the genuineness of his leadership. But I think it’s fair to comment on people’s perceptions/opinions in relation to his leadership. And it would seem that he was offside with many by the end of his tenure and lack of faith played a part in his demise.
Agreed on this John; i recall that press conference he did back and he referred to the player as being ‘ill or sick’ yet it seemed to be swept away.
Milo I agree with what you have said especially the political stuff other than the bit about the NRL CEO needing to come from the ranks of club CEO. I think that can be a disadvantage and it certainly was for Todd.
I think that he was handicapped from the start by working for two appalling heads of the Commission in Grant and Beattie. That did not help him.
I think you raised some good points but he had a lot of short comings for a person on his pay scale. He was indecisive and often went into political speak instead of dealing with issues
He also had bad judgment. While there are plenty of examples of this things like buying the ring for the wife of Cameron Smith and writing the character reference for a player charged for drink driving were particularly poor examples
As an Eels supporter it is very difficult to have sympathy for someone who used the Eels salary cap scandal as a step ladder to greatness and notoriety. For goodness sake he leaked to the media on a daily basis
Of course when it came to taking down the player managers who were equally as culpable as the club board he was silent. He stayed silent on the player managers for four years
However based on what has been said in the media today, in the end it was his inability to deal with problems head on and make hard decisions that has brought him undone
John, I think it’s fair to say that anyone who doesn’t like his decisions over the years must also include the ARLC in their criticisms.
I thought I did
Thanks John and you have highlighted more issues that he has been in charge of. The Inglis one never ceases to amaze me….and our salary cap issue i was deliberately leaving out as it causes too much pain John.
Lol 😂
NRL can be confusing for a CEO. A minority sport hemmed in by 3 other football codes in Australia and by a global game internationally. By any measurement it is a niche ‘product’( just made myself sick saying that). Going grand isn’t a strategy in the niche world, I think NRL lost its discipline in this respect. We screwed out more revenue, and splashed it around but where is the genuine growth in the game? A CEO always wants to take his/her organisation to the promised land, be rewarded emotionally and financially, and write a book about how wonderfully this occurred. Not for Todd, the cruel hand of fate has revealed a house of cards. A crisis always provides cover for bold moves, let’s see what V’Landys does to re-set the game, it will be him, the new CEO will take riding instructions. Those predicting the demise of Rugby League are wishful thinkers, as you suggest sixties, it will roar back.
I am not surprised at his leaving the job, no matter how he left or what were the real reasons overall, maybe the aspect is that he had too many areas in his role that he was in the end over his head as far as abilities are concerned.
The word inconsistencies has been mentioned by most, and I have to agree with that up to a point where he was quite consistent in his inconsistencies. What I believe makes all of that area pale up to a point where I considered him to be totally aloof to hearing reasoned debate, was he in the end put in a position where his aloofness and inconsistencies were so inbred into his reasoning, that he was beyond reason.
He seemed to be the classic in the area of avoiding areas where he should have known he made wrong and bad calls, as it was the only way that he could answer questions, by his waffling answers in justifying the unjustifiable.
I certainly wonder as to where he will find himself going forward, I see some ex players have thrown their support around him, I would not like to hazard the reason why though.
For mine Greenburg’s resignation has many shades of grey.
Positives
– Greenberg has been harshly judged as the architech of the NRL’s parlous financial position where I think clubland should shoulder much of the blame. Yes arguably there’s too many people at NRL HQ but Greenberg has delivered significant revenue growth; costs have grown in-line with this revenue growth. Clubland have consistently demanded the distribution of near to all surplus including in Jan/Feb when Greenburg wanted to send the FY18/19 surplus of $30m to the future fund, the clubs fought & nail.
– Greenberg delivered improved concussion protocols, expansion of the women’s competition and new initiatives like the magic round
– Greenberg led the sack the Eels Board initiative and the installation of Max, as painful as 2016/17 was, it was totally necessary and the Eels are better for it
– He went with dignity when the writing was on the wall – compare this to Raelene Castle.
The Bad
– Vlandy’s is a great operator but he’s operating as a CEO rather than a Chairman; eg Greenberg has been frozen out of the NRL Project Apollo restart. Good luck getting Vlandy’s to relinquish power to the new CEO
– Greenberg led the sack the Eels Board but did nothing to address the player agents who were just as culpable
– Greenberg didn’t fix the salary cap…what a pile of opaque crap it is
– Greenberg/Beattie introduced; the stand-down policy which at one level makes sense to protect the game but it is so arbitrary (eg Siva and Reynolds) and excessive referreeing which really just adds cost (2 refs, excessive bunker reviews).
Whoever replaces Greenberg needs to strong, continue to grow the game and preferably understand the NRL culture. Bernie Gurr would be an upgrade. Shane Richardson/Paul White maybe, Adbo may struggle with Vlandys. Don Furner/Blake Solly would be a no thanks.
I never rated Todd because he always felt like he jumped into the popular camps and didnt have the strength to say no. These type of leaders surround themselves with lots of people, lots of committees , lots of processes and structures. This makes the decision making process deluded down. In the end it is a ‘ joint decision ‘ supported by the Boss.
Vlandys is completely opposite. He is very much a boss in the old school stamp. He asks for evidence, he looks at the pros and cons and makes a timely decision. I remember in the early days of his reign in racing NSW he cut the guts out of the staff and streamlined a lot. He made management structure very much hands on. Racing NSW is now flying with massive turnovers. He is definately the leader at the helm. For our next CEO, I think we need corporate savy and not aligned to club land. I think Dave TRODDEN would be good but I reckon the try before you buy approach with ABDO will seal the deal. Good leaders dont need to be popular or get consensus to be successful.