{"id":693232,"date":"2026-05-25T09:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T09:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/693232\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T09:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T09:32:15","slug":"nrl-peter-vlandys-in-ceo-box-seat-after-andrew-abdo-moves-to-tennis-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/693232\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL: Peter V\u2019landys in CEO box seat after Andrew Abdo moves to Tennis Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For some time, the two sporting streams in which Peter V\u2019landys swims have delivered radically divergent fortunes.<\/p>\n

In the world of NRL, he has cemented his iron grip over the game as its dynamic chairman. He has pushed through a major expansion, placed the Australian Rugby League Commission on a more lucrative financial footing and stolen the limelight from the traditionally more dominant AFL. Fans mob him when they see him in the street.<\/p>\n

But in the world of racing, his reign as Racing NSW chief executive has been on shaky ground<\/a> amid a series of industry dust-ups and political brawls. V\u2019landys is never happier than when locked in a battle, but he is now a man fighting on too many fronts. He has known for some time he might need to get out of racing before the heat reaches boiling point. He has just been handed a neat way to do it, with serious knock-on effects for power and influence in Sydney\u2019s sporting landscape.<\/p>\n

\"ARLCARLC chairman Peter V\u2019landys at Monday\u2019s press conference.Getty Images<\/p>\n

The resignation<\/a> of NRL chief executive officer Andrew Abdo on Monday represents V\u2019landys\u2019 golden ticket. Abdo\u2019s surprise departure to replace Craig Tiley as the boss of Tennis Australia would ordinarily send the NRL board on a hunt for a replacement who is, as V\u2019landys described on Monday, \u201cSuperman and Jesus\u201d all in one. But in the board\u2019s mind, such a search is pointless because they already have their Super Jesus \u2013 and his name just happens to be Peter V\u2019landys.<\/p>\n

V\u2019landys will take four months\u2019 leave from Racing NSW to become acting NRL chief executive once Abdo steps aside in July. At a media conference, he suggested this was a temporary move. \u201cToday is about Andrew, not me,\u201d he said repeatedly. He also insisted he had not yet thought about his future.<\/p>\n

But barring a last-minute hiccup and pending a necessary constitution tweak, senior figures in league and state politics are convinced V\u2019landys will eventually resign from Racing NSW and become the NRL\u2019s executive chairman, meaning he continues to rule the board while also running the organisation at an operational level.<\/p>\n

Veteran league reporter Danny Weidler summarised the situation well on Monday when he said to V\u2019landys: \u201cThere is a feeling in the game that you\u2019re [the NRL] going to conduct a worldwide search that will end up on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the players and egos involved, the switch achieves three things.<\/p>\n

First, it means V\u2019landys can jump from racing before things become too uncomfortable. Racing NSW\u2019s war against the Australian Turf Club is not going well. He is often at the centre of parliamentary politics courtesy of arch-enemy Mark Latham, and the Minns government has appointed former NSW health minister Brad Hazzard to conduct a review of the legislation governing the state\u2019s $3.3 billion racing industry. His final report could make for uncomfortable reading at Racing NSW\u2019s Druitt Street headquarters. As if all that wasn\u2019t enough, V\u2019landys\u2019 decision to sue racing website publisher Vicky Leonard has raised eyebrows. Ironically, the article at the centre of the defamation battle questioned<\/a> whether V\u2019landys had ruled racing for too long, and whether his role at the NRL was a distraction.<\/p>\n

V\u2019landys has had a huge impact on racing, delivering massive prizemoney, bringing country horses to the city, and devising major new events such as The Everest. He could leave with his head held high. His departure would clear the way for a major reset of the industry. Hazzard\u2019s report will lay the groundwork for change and Premier Chris Minns may jump at the chance for a new team to do it. Graeme Hinton, V\u2019landys\u2019 effective deputy at Racing NSW, is an obvious candidate to succeed him.<\/p>\n

Second, V\u2019landys may be able to retain much of his salary. At Racing NSW, V\u2019landys is thought to earn well north of $1 million a year, and he picks up at least another $150,000 as NRL chair. Abdo was on at least $1.5 million as NRL chief executive. Do the maths.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Peter<\/a><\/p>\n

Third, Abdo\u2019s decision to seek greener pastures in Melbourne has created a blood-free coronation for V\u2019landys. Those who know the dynamics between the pair say V\u2019landys has great affection for Abdo and would not have stabbed him in the back to then fill his place. The Tennis Australia gig renders academic any speculation about whether he would have eventually knifed Abdo.<\/p>\n

Abdo is a good man weighed down by an unfair view that he is often sidelined by V\u2019Landys. He is not a yes-man; that title belongs to several men on the NRL board fiercely loyal to their chair. V\u2019landys\u2019 positive impact on the game gives him huge sway over the board, and it is hard to argue against success. However, many of the board members engage with each other on terms more reflective of family or friends, rather than business. In any other enterprise of the scale and importance as the NRL, such an operating style would not fly. At the NRL it is the norm.<\/p>\n

Abdo certainly had a front-row seat to the challenges of working closely with V\u2019landys. The South African-born administrator was arguably Australia\u2019s best-paid handbrake, injecting reality into V\u2019landys\u2019 grand visions when needed. A far more considered, measured and meticulous operator than his chair, Abdo would get the important stuff done quietly and was happy for V\u2019landys to bask in the spotlight. Others complain he took too long to make decisions and acted more like a chief operating officer than a chief executive.<\/p>\n

Over recent months, he has played a blinder, sitting back patiently and holding his tongue while waiting for the opportune moment to leave on his own terms. His gig at Tennis Australia may pay even more than what he was earning at the NRL. Bravo.<\/p>\n

Despite the tensions and unorthodox dynamics, the two men have arguably been one of the most successful partnerships in Australian sport. League is thriving and each has had a hand in that. \u201cPeter has been a strong chair, a visionary passionate about putting the game and the fans first,\u201d Abdo told reporters on Monday. \u201cHe is a leader with a big heart for the game, and he has taught me a great deal.\u201d For his part, V\u2019landys said Abdo was a huge loss to the game and remains a close friend.<\/p>\n

\"PeterPeter V\u2019landys and Andrew Abdo at the Australian Open in January.Getty Images<\/p>\n

A key question is how an all-powerful executive chairman operates in a post-Abdo NRL world. Who will have the guts to push back or the capacity to make his visions a reality? Several senior league figures speculated on Monday that Graeme Hinton, V\u2019landy\u2019s deputy at Racing NSW, could walk from there and reunite with him at the NRL.<\/p>\n

An early test for V\u2019landys lies in negotiations for the next set of NRL broadcasting rights. The deal with Foxtel and Nine, the publisher of the Herald and The Age, expires in 2027 and V\u2019landys has talked a big game about striking an agreement to beat the $4.5 billion, seven-year broadcast agreement the AFL inked in 2022.<\/p>\n

Before Abdo\u2019s departure, V\u2019landys could outsource the finer negotiations to his chief executive, and distance himself if the deal wasn\u2019t as lucrative as hoped. Now the buck for this \u2013 and everything else \u2013 in rugby league stops entirely with V\u2019landys.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a brave new world.<\/p>\n

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\"BevanBevan Shields<\/a> is a senior writer, and former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-693232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}