News Phil Gould blasts Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo at Gold Coast conference

[Motorhead]

He’s still right.

He is right. 100%.
But it is only an issue now for him it seems. His club gets advantages and outcomes that other clubs could only dream of. His best bet would be to shut the fuck up or just expose himself as a hypocritical cockhead who only bleats when it suits.

 

[Bulldog1966]

No, it’s not Peter, Todd . OK so you can’t prove your allegations, so you’re copping out. Typical .

Rational comments usually have that effect mate lol

 

[DinkumDog]

Rational comments usually have that effect mate lol

Rational? Moi? You mistake me for someone else! .

 

[Kempsey Dog]

I watched little Nicky last weekend. Loved watching it as a kid.

 

[The DoggFather]

nrLOL

 

[B-Train]

PVL is also an accountant.

So you’re saying he’s incapable of facilitating desired outcomes even though during 2020 he and his team worked out deals with 4 governments, 16 clubs, 2 broadcasters and the RLPA to get the competition started again after the Covid suspension. Or in 2021 when they took it to Kingsland to keep it going during the NSW lockdown. How short some memories are.

He’s already said today that Gould is wrong and the facts will prove this when it all comes out, so I guess we wait and see who’s right. Two sides to every story.

Please don't give us "he saved Rugby League during Covid" narrative DD.. Every other major sporting league around the world managed to keep going too.

Since he took over the following has happened...

- The six again rule has lead to more blowouts and less upsets than ever before..

- The head high crackdown has led to more sin binnings and send offs, less consistency and more ref controversy than ever, sometimes with up to 7 sin binnings in one game..

- The introduction of the genius 2 point Field Goal which supposedly makes the game more exciting...

- These rule changes and crackdowns happened with little notice for clubs to prepare and adapt..

- Decisions like the suspension for Taylan May being delayed by V'landys so he could play in the finals made no sense and had never been done before..

- You have the cap still not being set when it needed to be known months ago..

- The Dolphins being added to the comp when the comp has never been more uneven and the quality of players never more disproportionate between the top few clubs and everyone else.. The Dolphins weren't given much assistance to build a roster..

 

[Natboy]

How unprofessional are the nrl. The only professional sport to start a season without the cap being set. How stupid does it look to be the NRL… they need to get the boot and Someone more capable take over

That’s what happens when you have unions involved. Look at the trains, teachers etc

 

[DinkumDog]

Please don't give us "he saved Rugby League during Covid" narrative DD.. Every other major sporting league around the world managed to keep going too.

Since he took over the following has happened...

- The six again rule has lead to more blowouts and less upsets than ever before..

- The head high crackdown has led to more sin binnings and send offs, less consistency and more ref controversy than ever, sometimes with up to 7 sin binnings in one game..

- The introduction of the genius 2 point Field Goal which supposedly makes the game more exciting...

- These rule changes and crackdowns happened with little notice for clubs to prepare and adapt..

- Decisions like the suspension for Taylan May being delayed by V'landys so he could play in the finals made no sense and had never been done before..

- You have the cap still not being set when it needed to be known months ago..

- The Dolphins being added to the comp when the comp has never been more uneven and the quality of players never more disproportionate between the top few clubs and everyone else.. The Dolphins weren't given much assistance to build a roster..

Not giving that narrative at all.
Where did I say he ‘saved rugba league’?
I don’t agree with everything that’s been done.

But as I said previously your beef goes way beyond one or two individuals.

I don’t agree with expansion right now when there’s barely enough playing talent for 16 teams. But how do you know Redcliffe ‘weren’t given much assistance’? You don’t. Have you heard their CEO or Skeletor complain about this? No.

But commercially I get what they’re trying to do.
PVL made NSW far more competitive in racing where VIC used to be the clear leader.
My guess for rugba league is he’s trying to maintain QLD and NSW as the stronghold against continued growth of the AFL (you know that AFL are considering more teams too, including QLD, NT and TAS). Every government wants growth, bigger events and more contributions to the economy - travel, hotels, restaurants, hire cars, jobs - you name it.

Whether anyone wants to admit it or not - broadcast (and now digital) revenue keeps the clubs and the game alive. And those stumping the money will demand (rightly so) an exciting product. NRL is just another product competing for time and wallet share along with Netflix and many other things that keep people on their couches today. If they don’t innovate and try things, it might go the direction of Rugby AU (utterly boring) and what was once a team to be proud of in the Wobblies are now minnows on the world stage - who’s willing to risk that?

So I’m not defending him or the leadership wholesale. Mistakes have been made.

But as usual I’m speaking out against those who make the usual lame calls of ‘corruption’ (without evidence) and ‘incompetence’ when I’d love to see those people in the chair having a go (at least it’d be a good laugh).

 

[Harry Oz]

Yeah, from the conspirators who constantly bleat about ‘corruption!’ but can never prove it…

In social media, generalisation and hyperbole is often used to get a point across.

There doesn't seem to be specific evidence of corruption in NRL or Racing NSW at this point in time.

Whoever 'controls' league works every day with global gambling interests, broadcasters, ex-players doing jobs they're not qualified for, and all sorts of characters who help make rugby league such a colourful and fun activity.

Rugby League culture has always had a lot of cronyism, bullying and justifying things to help out mates, and themselves. It is part of the appeal.

It is these people who have responsibility for making sure everything is above board and is seen to be above board.

Not the other way around.

It is not the job of the mums, dads and young people who are putting their spare time into the local club to keep the NRL honest.

We've seen this before with Rugby League.

This is going to end badly for rugby league generally. Although some will do really well out of it.

I'm only saying this because it is pretty obvious the current culture, personalities and $$$$ of NRL (and Racing NSW FFS) is a recipe for disaster.

And from experience I can say that when you get this kind of mix that bad things not only can happen, they do happen.

But it's not my problem. Good luck to all.

 

[DinkumDog]

In social media, generalisation and hyperbole is often used to get a point across.

There doesn't seem to be specific evidence of corruption in NRL or Racing NSW at this point in time.

Whoever 'controls' league works every day with global gambling interests, broadcasters, ex-players doing jobs they're not qualified for, and all sorts of characters who help make rugby league such a colourful and fun activity.

Rugby League culture has always had a lot of cronyism, bullying and justifying things to help out mates, and themselves. It is part of the appeal.

It is these people who have responsibility for making sure everything is above board and is seen to be above board.

Not the other way around.

It is not the job of the mums, dads and young people who are putting their spare time into the local club to keep the NRL honest.

We've seen this before with Rugby League.

This is going to end badly for rugby league generally. Although some will do really well out of it.

I'm only saying this because it is pretty obvious the current culture, personalities and $$$$ of NRL (and Racing NSW FFS) is a recipe for disaster.

And from experience I can say that when you get this kind of mix that bad things not only can happen, they do happen.

But it's not my problem. Good luck to all.

Well, sewer media is one of the worlds problems isn’t it. It’s done more harm that good in my view generating hate, misinformation, conspiracies and ‘influencers’. Gee, we really should be proud of that ‘achievement’. I don’t wish harm on people but the day Mark Zuckerberg goes broke I’ll likely raise a glass.

At least you admitted it - there’s ‘no specific evidence’. Correct. There have always and will always be crooks at the edges of any entity that generates big bucks. But that’s not evidence of complicity from those running those entities. Things are very different from the days of Alan Bond or Neville Wran.

Not sure I get the rest of your point about ‘the other way around’ - I don’t know if anyone suggested ‘mums and dads’ should ‘keep the bastards honest’ - but I certainly didn’t, so I don’t know what you mean there.

 

[B-Train]

Not giving that narrative at all.
Where did I say he ‘saved rugba league’?
I don’t agree with everything that’s been done.

But as I said previously your beef goes way beyond one or two individuals.

I don’t agree with expansion right now when there’s barely enough playing talent for 16 teams. But how do you know Redcliffe ‘weren’t given much assistance’? You don’t. Have you heard their CEO or Skeletor complain about this? No.

But commercially I get what they’re trying to do.
PVL made NSW far more competitive in racing where VIC used to be the clear leader.
My guess for rugba league is he’s trying to maintain QLD and NSW as the stronghold against continued growth of the AFL (you know that AFL are considering more teams too, including QLD, NT and TAS). Every government wants growth, bigger events and more contributions to the economy - travel, hotels, restaurants, hire cars, jobs - you name it.

Whether anyone wants to admit it or not - broadcast (and now digital) revenue keeps the clubs and the game alive. And those stumping the money will demand (rightly so) an exciting product. NRL is just another product competing for time and wallet share along with Netflix and many other things that keep people on their couches today. If they don’t innovate and try things, it might go the direction of Rugby AU (utterly boring) and what was once a team to be proud of in the Wobblies are now minnows on the world stage - who’s willing to risk that?

So I’m not defending him or the leadership wholesale. Mistakes have been made.

But as usual I’m speaking out against those who make the usual lame calls of ‘corruption’ (without evidence) and ‘incompetence’ when I’d love to see those people in the chair having a go (at least it’d be a good laugh).

Skeletor and the Dolphins have complained about it. But he complains about everything. They could have done an expansion draft, more cap concessions etc to help them like other leagues do.

I'd argue that they've undersold the rights and didn't even entertain other offers to drive the price up or sell it to another network. 9's coverage is poor and outdated and they often underpay for the rights. If the NRL were smart and truly wanted to maximise revenue, they'd invest in broadcasting the games themselves like other leagues do and then selling it to the networks. They should also have their own streaming service outside of this Telstra crap they have now.

Again, I've never talked about corruption. But there needs to be accountability. V'landys stubbornness and persistence to stick with rule changes that haven't worked is a large part of why people want him gone. Especially when he has no Rugby League background to justify such decisions...

Making wholesale changes to the fabric of the game that don't work isn't exactly going to endear yourself to the fans.

 

[Harry Oz]

"Not sure I get the rest of your point about ‘the other way around’ - I don’t know if anyone suggested ‘mums and dads’ should ‘keep the bastards honest’ - but I certainly didn’t, so I don’t know what you mean there."

I'm saying the people who are trusted to take care of the game are the ones with the obligation to proactively show they are trustworthy.

It is not up to volunteers or people on social media to interrogate their activities or their trustworthiness.

That's all.

NRL doesn't have specialist regulatory oversight of their activities. They slip between the cracks when it comes to corporate accountability, they can make their own rules.

It is just the way it is. Has been since Kevin Humphries. Doesn't really affect me in any way really.

The way NRL self-regulates the tension between corporate and community responsibilities is asking for trouble. But it is their problem. I didn't realise they still had the Racing NSW connection (and by inference online gambling) but that rings alarm bells. Really big, loud alarm bells.

We have two games at Belmore this year. I'm more concerned about having good weather for that and getting down to Lakemba for some good food. Or maybe Auburn. Hopefully the missus will come. And we win.

 

[DinkumDog]

Skeletor and the Dolphins have complained about it. But he complains about everything. They could have done an expansion draft, more cap concessions etc to help them like other leagues do.

I'd argue that they've undersold the rights and didn't even entertain other offers to drive the price up or sell it to another network. 9's coverage is poor and outdated and they often underpay for the rights. If the NRL were smart and truly wanted to maximise revenue, they'd invest in broadcasting the games themselves like other leagues do and then selling it to the networks. They should also have their own streaming service outside of this Telstra crap they have now.

Again, I've never talked about corruption. But there needs to be accountability. V'landys stubbornness and persistence to stick with rule changes that haven't worked is a large part of why people want him gone. Especially when he has no Rugby League background to justify such decisions...

Making wholesale changes to the fabric of the game that don't work isn't exactly going to endear yourself to the fans.

Actually that’s not as straight forward as you think.

Part of my work deals with market shifts in media. The ‘streaming wars’ have shown D2C (direct to consumer) products AREN’T a panacea. A big driver here is all the ‘cord cutters’ who thought they were on to a good thing by ‘unbundling’ product are now resenting that they’ve got so many subscriptions and those prices keep going one way - up - due to a few factors including a narrower base of customers and rising costs for storage (chip shortages) - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s widely rumoured Apple will get exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket as although the NFL prints money - their D2C strategy hasn’t taken off.

Consolidation continues - Disney/Fox are de facto and Warner Bros/Discovery got married (HBO, CNN etc) and there will be more to follow. So, if a market like the US hasn’t perfected D2C - how do you think the little old NRL would go - particularly if they bite the hands that feed them in Nine, Fox, Telstra etc? It would blow up in their faces. Seven are invested in AFL and won’t get both. TEN don’t have the money and their parent in CBS has a different strategy anyway.

As for administrators - it’s a billion dollar business and I’d prefer business leaders than going back to the good ol’ Arko days of leadership of the game.

So, you can pour scorn over all the NRL is doing, but there’s reasons for things you just don’t know about that doesn’t necessarily equal incompetence.

 

[DinkumDog]

"Not sure I get the rest of your point about ‘the other way around’ - I don’t know if anyone suggested ‘mums and dads’ should ‘keep the bastards honest’ - but I certainly didn’t, so I don’t know what you mean there."

I'm saying the people who are trusted to take care of the game are the ones with the obligation to proactively show they are trustworthy.

It is not up to volunteers or people on social media to interrogate their activities or their trustworthiness.

That's all.

NRL doesn't have specialist regulatory oversight of their activities. They slip between the cracks when it comes to corporate accountability, they can make their own rules.

It is just the way it is. Has been since Kevin Humphries. Doesn't really affect me in any way really.

The way NRL self-regulates the tension between corporate and community responsibilities is asking for trouble. But it is their problem. I didn't realise they still had the Racing NSW connection (and by inference online gambling) but that rings alarm bells. Really big, loud alarm bells.

We have two games at Belmore this year. I'm more concerned about having good weather for that and getting down to Lakemba for some good food. Or maybe Auburn. Hopefully the missus will come. And we win.

OK so it rings loud alarm bells but doesn’t affect you. So which one is it?

And what’s different about how the AFL runs their business in terms of ‘self regulation’ or affiliation with betting agencies?

I respect that you’ve got your views, but to be honest they’re not making a lot of sense to me.

One thing we agree on is that the Dogs go well in 2023, whether that’s at Belmore or anywhere.

 

[maroondog72]

Cool. You might as well set fire to your money though.

The Kennel’s lawyers make Dennis Denuto look like one of the great legal minds of all time .

its the vibe......

 

[TwinTurbo]

Let's examine what Gould actually said and whether he is correct (or not.;
1. The new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) should have been finalised before the NRL new year kicked off on 1st November.
2. The Salary Cap for the new year should be known before the year starts, otherwise how do the clubs know who and for much they can sign
3. The responsibility for the signing (or rather non signing) of the new CBA belongs with Peter V’landys, Andrew Abdo and Clint Newton
4. Gould believed that the high-tackle crackdown V’landys instigated last year was too heavy-handed
5. Gould believes that he could do V'landys' job as NRL Chairman in his lunch hour

Points #1 to #4 are I feel irrefutable and as for #5, well, the NRL Chairman's role is part time and Gould is well know for his long business lunches where deals get done.

I have heard from a couple of people who were in attendance that it was all said in good humour and the MC, James Bracey, lead it that way. Perhaps V'landys needs to develop a sense of humour and/or a tougher skin.


Always a Bulldog

 

[racin jason]

That’s what happens when you have unions involved. Look at the trains, teachers etc

You can't compare the NRL with Rail Workers and teachers. The issues with them is a totally inept, corrupt and out of touch LNP State Government. Sk me how I know!

 

[Bulldog1966]

Did Vlandy's really Arc up though?? Idk hence why I'm asking, again not too fussed but I don't mind Gus calling out mismanagement at all.

 

[Bulldog1966]

You can't compare the NRL with Rail Workers and teachers. The issues with them is a totally inept, corrupt and out of touch LNP State Government. Sk me how I know!

Them there's fighting words to some mate, did you just pot the Libs lmao
* not me btw I c.n.g.l.o.a.f

 

[Harry Oz]

Let's examine what Gould actually said and whether he is correct (or not.;
1. The new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) should have been finalised before the NRL new year kicked off on 1st November. View attachment 61177
2. The Salary Cap for the new year should be known before the year starts, otherwise how do the clubs know who and for much they can sign View attachment 61178
3. The responsibility for the signing (or rather non signing) of the new CBA belongs with Peter V’landys, Andrew Abdo and Clint Newton View attachment 61179
4. Gould believed that the high-tackle crackdown V’landys instigated last year was too heavy-handed View attachment 61180
5. Gould believes that he could do V'landys' job as NRL Chairman in his lunch hour View attachment 61181

Points #1 to #4 are I feel irrefutable and as for #5, well, the NRL Chairman's role is part time and Gould is well know for his long business lunches where deals get done.

I have heard from a couple of people who were in attendance that it was all said in good humour and the MC, James Bracey, lead it that way. Perhaps V'landys needs to develop a sense of humour and/or a tougher skin.


Always a Bulldog

Good summary.
#4 Perhaps the high tackle crackdown was on the basis of legal advice. If a board receives legal advice that they need to do something, and they don't, then they're exposed to liability. The problem of NRL being responsible for providing a safe workplace which includes managing risk of permanent brain injury is ongoing.
#5 V'Landys is already doing the job at lunchtime and maybe the occasional all-expenses paid dinner. The higher you go in any organisation the easier it is. Just say something no matter how stupid and there will be a lackey who will go and do it. Being chair of a board is much easier than being at the front line. Gus knows this. That is why he is always having a laugh. He knows Rugby League is a joke.

Alarm bells are ringing but who cares?
In the same way alarm bells ring every time I see Donald Trump, but don't care about him either. Watching Rugby League politics is like watching Donald Trump.