Peter V’landys is the man of the moment. Roy and H.G., in their welcome return to form, could not have conceived of a greater rugby league character.
He is a figure that has gained accolades greater than any recent sporting administrator, particularly through traditional media channels.
The coverage has been almost embarrassingly gushing. From the “greatest leader in Australian sport” to being “entitled to be nicknamed Zeus,” seldom has the head of a sport in Australia received such praise through the media.
This contrasts to some sections of the rugby league community, let’s call it rugby league Twitter, where people have been less positive.
They see a front, a stooge for the media companies, coming in and selling the farm. More than one meme of monorails and Springfield have gone around the traps.
Who is this man? The bloke who poses for press photographs with a seeming intent to present himself as the disheveled man in the suit.
We have heard parts of his origin story, how rugby league provided a young boy of Greek parents, living in Woollongong, the chance to overcome bullying and bigotry.
He follows a long line of notable Kytherians who have made their mark on Australian life. But there are parts of his biography that are maddeningly brief.
He graduated from high school in 1984, got a Commerce degree and started work at the NSW Harness Racing Club in 1988. Then we fast forward to the 21st century to hear about his achievements with Racing NSW.
What are the stories of his formative early years? What lessons did he learn? How did he become the operator he is today?
V’landys is rugby league’s war time leader. Author and leadership guru Simon Sinek defines two kinds of games: finite games where players, rules and the overall objective are clear and agreed upon; and infinite games, where the rules are unknown and there is no outright winner, success is that you keep playing he game. V’landys is adept at finite games.
Very early in the COVID-19 outbreak, he realised the situation and the role he could play. The game, he outlined, had no money, the cupboard was bare.
Playing was the only option to save the game. He created a finite game: we have to save rugby league by getting back on the field as soon as possible.
That is our objective and everything should be honed towards that. Get back on the field, on the TV and everyone will be sweet: from the players to the physios to the bus drivers.
This is a tactic often used by rugby league coaches. Amongst chaos and limitless options, they create a game plan. It sets a direction. As Ivan Cleary famously said “you’re either on the bus or you’re off it.”
Pre-departure Todd Greenberg and Peter V’landys (Matt King/Getty Images)
This approach has given a degree of unity. Clubs, administrators and players are pulling in the same direction. Interesting examples arise, though, in those who missed, or were thrown under, the bus.
Referees, a crucial cog in the rugby league ecosystem, felt unheard when the one referee system was announced. A brief stand-off came and went, but it demonstrates a fascinating aspect of V’landys’ leadership style.
In a finite game, it’s clear who the big dogs and the little dogs are. Power relations are simple. But as we get closer to 28 May, the game itself will change to being an infinite one. That is, the goalposts will have shifted. The game’s back on air. Hooray! Now what?
That’s the captivating bit, that peek into how V’landys may operate in an infinite game, where the goal is to sustain the game. In this scenario, he would need to tackle issues of expansion, the international game, the women’s game, junior participation.
These are things that aren’t clear cut. They’re not black and white. The approach and tools used during COVID-19 will not be as effective as they once were.
It risks having more situations like that of the peeved referees: stakeholders not being heard, people feeling rolled over, people turning off. You’ve turned the lights on, now how do you keep them watching?
You get the game flowing. You bring back the little man. Make fatigue a factor again. All of things sound great as ideas. But how do you achieve them?
Steps are being made to try and keep people’s attention, in anticipation of the game changing. My question is whether V’landys should be, or whether he wants to be, that person.
In many respects, he is very much some people’s cup of tea. League nostalgics him as a strong leader who can take the game back to where it was. But he does have his detractors. A notable aspect in the public debate around his relative merits is the difficulty each camp has in seeing what the other side loves or loathes about him.
His detractors see him as a Sydney-centric dinosaur, but have a hard time seeing the significant achievement of returning the game ahead of other Australian football codes. Likewise, his supporters turn a blind eye to mis-steps, his failures to consult key stakeholders, his fondness of making decisions on the run.
Both sides have valid points, and that is my argument. Peter V’landys is a human, who like all of us, has his strengths and weaknesses.
I believe that he was well-equipped to dealing with the finite game of getting rugby league back, but that he will struggle to continue to be such a leading figure in the infinite game of rugby league administration.
I would urge him to go out a winner, either handing the reins back to a Chief Executive Officer or riding off into the sunset.
Walter Black
Guest
Ch7 & 10 are interested but Ch9 pays more for exclusivity. Ch7 are cash strapped and already have AFL so probably wouldn't pay as much as Ch9. Ch10 were broke but have just been taken over. There is some Ch9 loyalty there as they have been the NRL "Partners" for a very long time. Having said that, most fans would love to see the back of them, me included.
Marco
Guest
Hey guys, I am a Pom over here in the UK but follow the NRL as best as I can along with our super league here as well. Was just wondering about why channels 7 (Is it because they have the AFL) and 10 are not interested in the NRL?
Walter Black
Guest
He is interim CEO Mooty, he is only a stand in. I think he would be ok at running the game but needs a more strategic thinking CEO above him.
The real SC
Roar Rookie
1. finalise the tv contracts. I wanted Channel 10 to get the NRL rights from 2023 onwards but sadly 10 didn’t want it. Channel 7 doesn’t want the NRL anyway. I heard on A Sydney Morning Herald and noticed that the NRL is close to finalising a $2.3 billion broadcasting contract. Nine, Fox Sports will retain the rights until 2026. If I was the NRL I would be thinking of this: Nine gets 1 Thursday Night (8Pm), 1 Friday Night (8Pm), 1 Saturday Night (7:30pm) and I Sunday Arvo (4:05pm) Since 2019, 9Gem decided not to show the post match talk in Tas, vic, SA and WA because they rate low. I think it’s very likely that 9GEM won’t show the post match talk in southern states. Instrad, 9GEm will screen other repeat shows.
Mooty
Roar Rookie
If Abdo isn’t up to the game as you say, why did V’landy install him as CEO in the first place? Answer, so he could control the works.
Big Daddy
Guest
JamesB, point 9 is the killer . It's a very sad indictment on the clubs that they have to rely on the $13 million grant from the NRL to cover the salary cap and ancillary costs involved in running an NRL club. The Sydney clubs are plagued by poor crowds and yet some clubs are still getting very good sponsorship and some clubs that have highly profitable leagues still struggle to make ends meet. Let's face it the landscape will change completely when the clubs that are highly reliant on poker machine revenue not only for NRL clubs but all rugby league clubs throughout this nation . Some will survive, some will not. You only have to look at Balmain and Newtown to say it won't.
Placepunter
Roar Rookie
Yes yes yes yes yes. Which is why I’m questioning what V’Landys has actually done for the game. Short term bullying, posturing for long term…………?
Walter Black
Guest
Probably true but I doubt that Abdo on his own is upto the task that needs doing and quite frankly, as long as those tasks get done, then I don't care who does them.
Walter Black
Guest
We have one of the most exciting spectacles of a sport anywhere in the world. The product is fantastic. It absolutely smashes Union and is in my view much much better than soccor or AFL (I admit, I am biased). So if we have such an exciting product and crowds are falling it can only be because a) The structure of the game is wrong or / and 2) we don't market our game properly. If you reduce the number of clubs, you will dilute the product, you will reduce your income, you will reduce your broadcast rights. To your points above 1. The nett tv rights this year may be less but not massively so but going forward (8.) gross rights FTA, Paid, International, Digital can be significantly higher. Things are changing yes but if we change with them and market ourselves properly there is no reason why we should gain less. 2. That is what needs working on. At a guess, I would say we need partners around the globe that provide both content and market it in their jurisdictions. 3. Marketing the game is the job of the NRL and a pretty poor job it has been doing of it. 4. Gee what a defeatist attitude. Lets just contract back to a Sydney based league and really watch our game die. The biggest success we have had in the last 20years is the Melbourne Storm. Right in the heart of a rusted on AFL state and well outside the games traditional home. If I had my way, I would announce a new team in Perth and one in Brisbane tomorrow. No one ever shrank to greatness and if we are not expanding, we are dying. 5. Wrong Wrong Wrong. The money we have needs to work harder, it needs investing in the growth areas for the future not stripping away. 7. I agree with this one.
Mooty
Roar Rookie
V’Iandy is chairman of the board, he effectively sacked Greenberg, and appointed Abdo. Why is V’Iandy still making decisions that a CEO should be making. Because he can’t delegate responsibility, he wants to keep control over everything, it will eventually affect the running of the nrl, if not already.
jamesb
Roar Guru
“Crowds have gone lower and lower” When you schedule matches at Thursday 8pm on a school night, and Friday 6pm, where people are still coming home from work, what do you expect? That’s two matches per round held in unfriendly times. That equates to a quarter of a season of matches. “viewer number have gone lower and lower.” Viewership is fragmented. Nine’s matches are simulcasted with Fox. Of course Fox televises every game, every round. Theres the Kayo streaming service and NRL Live pass where you can watch a game in a 7 inch screen. So a with Nine game, you can watch it in four different platforms- Nine, Fox, Kayo and Nrl live pass.
Placepunter
Roar Rookie
Crowds have gone lower and lower, viewer number have gone lower and lower. We are reaching or have reached our new normal. The habits of people change and have changed. We need to prepare for the future. "Build it and they will come" used to be the catch cry but no longer is. Times have changed. Ask Myer or David Jones how whether they'd like to (a) get more showroom space (b) keep the same showroom space that they have or (c) reduce their showroom space and they'll categorically answer "C". Peoples habits are changing and we need to change with them or risk bankruptcy. The NRL was slowly going bankrupt before Covid-19. Now's the time to get the decisions right for the long term and not be so short term focussed.
jamesb
Roar Guru
If you reduce clubs, you lose fans.
Placepunter
Roar Rookie
Walter, thank you for your thoughts and i'll comment on them point by point. Abdo or whoever gets the NRL CEO position moving forward will be responsible for the NRL. V'landys as The Commissioner of the ARL should do what his job description dictates and leave the NRL CEO to do his. 1. Finalise the tv contracts................The money received will almost certainly be less and possibly significantly less. 2. Develop the NRL's digital app.........totally agree although i'm uncertain how well it can be monetized. 3. How do we market this game better (particularly with the ball and chain that is Ch9).........Channel 9 at present have more money than the other FTA channels but more importantly I can't see bigger money being paid regardless of which FTA broadcasts the game. As far as marketing the game, that's the job of the NRL. 4. How do we expand our reach (Australia, Globally)..............we don't, consolidate and make the best of what we have. I've seen the NBA, NFL expand worldwide reach whereas the NRL in the same timeframes has tried and failed. The two aforementioned sports come from a significantly bigger base. The NRL comes from such a small base (NSW and QLD) that it's futile to send good money after bad, chasing a rainbow that won't be caught. 5. How do we restructure our finances and make clubs stronger ?............reduce the number of clubs so that we build a stronger base to strengthen the rest and maybe, just maybe in time we can broach the subject of expansion again. In the meantime we have to use what we have to it's best. 6. How do we expand our game (teams, womens juniors)............see my comments above. 7. What about Origin Scheduling ?...............I think that playing Origin mid season devalues the competition and therefore should be played post season with International series scheduled every two or even four years apart. If you ask players whether they'd rather play Origin or Test matches that they'd answer Origin. Playing International series as i've suggested will possibly engender an appetite for the Tests. 8. FTA tv rights 2022 and beyond..................as above. 9. How do we grow our income ?...................as above. 10. What about the international game ?........as above.
Walter Black
Guest
Studying the organisation chart and understanding what talents we do have and where there are gaps would be a good start. I think the whole thing needs reorganising. We need to recognise the people with footy skills and put them in positions where they can sort out footy things. Business leaders need to be put in places leading the strategic development of the game and pushing that forward. There needs to be more Project Appollo teams set up to address the issues I have listed. We have the worlds best kep't secret in Rugby League and the time to reveal that secret is now.
jamesb
Roar Guru
Nice list Walter. I’ll add a few more: 11. How do we make the state leagues stronger? 12. How do we fund and upgrade suburban grounds? 13. How do we increase junior participation? When he started as Chairman, he did mention bucket list items like suburban grounds and country footy, but I don’t think he anticipated that he was trying to save the game from a global pandemic. And with point 9, “How do we grow our income?”, the game has to stop relying on broadcast revenue. It’s got to find other major income streams.
kk
Roar Pro
Heavy Duty/ Simple Essential.
kk
Roar Pro
Simple list, well put , Walter. A detailed organizational chart would be a map for our exploring and understanding this adventure. Or is that beyond our ken.
Walter Black
Guest
Do not agree, There is a very big difference between setting a strategy and executing it as Vlandy's has just done and administration which you are now trying to paint him into. I will agree that Vlandy's is not the administrator type but that is why Abdo is there to do those running the game type things however there is a ton of neglected strategic stuff that has been hanging around sometimes for years that Vlandy's could (and I hope will) get his head around. 1. Finalise the tv contracts 2. Develop the NRL's digital app 3. How do we market this game better (particularly with the ball and chain that is Ch9) 4. How do we expand our reach (Australia, Globally) 5. How do we restructure our finances and make clubs stronger ? 6. How do we expand our game (teams, womens juniors) 7. What about Origin Scheduling ? 8. FTA tv rights 2022 and beyond 9. How do we grow our income ? 10. What about the international game ? We are so far behind it isn't funny and while a lot of good things have happened we desperately need someone to lead this game and realise its full potential. That could be a man like Peter Vlandys
Nat
Roar Guru
I think you may have misinterpreted what is finite vs infinite. The NRL, as an entertainment organisation can only be finite because they go from broadcast contract to contract. It is their job to use the TV and sponsorship money to make the game as attractive as possible in order for the broadcasters to renew their braodcast rights. Maybe if/when they launch their own online Sub platform, it will be different but even then a methodology has been done by other online services. I have to say I disagree with Sinek when it applies to a private enterprise endevour. The only time the 'game' is infinite is when they are venturing down a brand new path/product/revenue steam. That's why they conduct a cost benefit and SWAT analysis. If a company invests in a new direction without having some type of goal or timeline, well, I wouldn't work there.