2. Peter V’landys’ impact on the National Rugby League
New ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys has made the most significant impact of any rugby league administrator since the Super League war.
He made some bold decisions during the last 12 months. With the resignation of Todd Greenberg in April, V’landys was suddenly the face of the game.
Fans were appreciative of his efforts to get the competition resumed after it was suspended just two rounds in. On reflection, the UK Super League may have missed a beat by not adopting the NRL approach of a secure player bubble. This ultimately led to widespread issues with positive COVID-19 results and team schedules being messed around.
V’landys’ ruthless approach in returning to one on-field referee, and adopting rule changes to speed up the game, have been taken favourably by the rugby league public. At some stage there will need to be a balance in rule changes to prevent the fabric of the game being lost.
The appointment of Andrew Abdo as Greenberg’s replacement seems to be a winner on face value.
V’landys’ next bold move may be to purchase a stake in the UK Super League, which couldn’t come soon enough.
The game in the UK appears to be going backwards with their decision to cut off expansion outside the game’s heartland in the north. Toronto Wolfpack’s removal from the top tier and Leigh Centurions’ promotion proves this mentality.
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