{"id":693863,"date":"2026-05-25T16:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/693863\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T16:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:38:12","slug":"andrew-abdo-leaves-nrl-as-a-punchline-for-peter-vlandys-nrl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/693863\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Abdo leaves NRL as a punchline for Peter V\u2019landys | NRL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Was Andrew Abdo the crutch of Peter V\u2019Landys, or his handbrake? NRL<\/a> fans will soon find out, as the great tsar of rugby league takes full control of the sport just as it approaches its grandest test.<\/p>\n

Many will say the racing powerbroker has run rugby league since his ascension to chair of the ARLC in 2019. But that would be a disservice to the respected and often pitied Abdo, who has been repeatedly required to play the straight man to V\u2019landys\u2019 mix of bluster and comedy.<\/p>\n

That dynamic was on show for perhaps the last time on Monday afternoon at NRL HQ, when the odd-couple of administrators scrambled a press conference after the announcement leaked in the morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA very hard day for me personally today,\u201d V\u2019landys began, his jovial tone a forewarning of what was to come. \u201cIt\u2019s with much disappointment that I announce that Andrew Abdo joined the One Nation party and is going there this afternoon. You all thought it was Tennis Australia, but it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

More Heath Ledger\u2019s Joker than stand up comedian, V\u2019landys went on: \u201cNo, jokes aside, Andrew is leaving us to be the CEO of Tennis Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sport is entertainment, a fact V\u2019landys seems to take seriously. \u201cAnything you want to say, Andrew?\u201d, he offered briefly before continuing. \u201cHe begged me not to say One Nation because he\u2019s not a right-winger, he\u2019s more a left-winger.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he has done since assuming the role of chief executive in 2020, the professional Abdo played the straight bat. Or the percentage forehand to the middle of the court. Moving proceedings along briskly, he addressed the waiting media and reflected on what appeared to be an amiable executive departure. It was an \u201cemotional day\u201d. Rugby league<\/a> was \u201cpart of my DNA\u201d.<\/p>\n

He exuded optimism for the sport he is leaving: \u201cThe exciting part is \u2013 and I really believe this in all aspects \u2013 rugby league is only just getting started on its growth potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therein lies the contradiction. Why would Andrew Abdo, veteran chief executive of a code that is close to the summit of Australian sport, choose to leave? And why would he decide now, as generational levers \u2013 of expansion, broadcast, bargaining and the breakthrough of the women\u2019s game \u2013 just come into reach?<\/p>\n

V\u2019landys is usually a propagandist when speaking of his sporting adversaries. Around Abdo\u2019s departure, suddenly he was a diplomat about the top job in tennis. \u201cIt\u2019s a position that any sport administrator would aspire to,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an international competition. He gets to travel to Wimbledon, New York, where else is it, Paris? I mean, I can offer him Manly and Papua New Guinea.\u201d<\/p>\n

This appeared to be a joke at the expense of the Chiefs, the NRL\u2019s 2028 expansion side. V\u2019landys continued: \u201cBut anyway, so any sporting administrator would not give up a position that is offered to him like Tennis Australia because it\u2019s the ultimate in a sporting administrator\u2019s career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans have been told to think big when it comes to rugby league. Of breaking through to the US market though the Las Vegas beachhead. Of pushing not only into PNG, but to Perth, and next to New Zealand (or back to Queensland). Of an imminent broadcast bonanza that would blow away the AFL\u2019s seven-year, $4.5bn deal signed in 2022.<\/p>\n

Here, though, was one of the architects of rugby league\u2019s upward trajectory jumping ship. \u201cIn professional sport, there are not many opportunities to take leadership positions,\u201d said Abdo, already chief executive officer of the the second largest sport in Australia, if you missed it earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity for me to now push myself and learn and grow and develop and challenge myself in a different environment, in a different sport. We\u2019ve got to keep learning and keep growing and this was a limited window and one that held appeal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That may be the case, but it is also an escape from an uncomfortable room. Abdo walks out the door of Rugby League Central at Moore Park in 50 days. Before then, V\u2019landys has declared his intention for the NRL to sign a new TV deal. \u201cEverything\u2019s perfect for us to get the best broadcast deal ever, but as I\u2019ve said all along, it\u2019s not about the money,\u201d he said, setting out the parameters for Abdo\u2019s final act: more cash for the NRL, but with a lower outlay for fans.<\/p>\n

Such an outcome might mean increased investment by free-to-air networks in an environment of declining revenues and imminent gambling ad reform. Or a miracle. V\u2019landys did, after all, say that Abdo\u2019s replacement would need to be \u201cSuperman and Jesus added together\u201d.<\/p>\n

Whether the deal is signed before Abdo leaves or not, the executive\u2019s departure hands rugby league\u2019s front man \u2013 love him or laugh at him \u2013 with unfettered administrative power. V\u2019landys has pencilled in four months\u2019 long-service leave from his job as chief executive of Racing NSW, allowing him to step into Abdo\u2019s former role for much of the year. He could continue there with the support of the clubs.<\/p>\n

At the top of rugby league, now two becomes one. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing I admire about Andrew,\u201d V\u2019landys said in his most telling quip. \u201cHe\u2019s had to put up with me for six years. I can\u2019t put up with myself most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Was Andrew Abdo the crutch of Peter V\u2019Landys, or his handbrake? NRL fans will soon find out, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-693863","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\/693863","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=693863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}