V’landys receives unanimous support from clubs and states to become NRL executive chair

The final hurdle has been cleared for Peter V’landys to become the NRL’s first executive chairman after club chairs offered their unanimous support for the move.

The chairs of the clubs and state leagues were on a phone hook-up on Saturday morning to discuss the ascension of V’landys to the new role. While Melbourne chair Matt Tripp and Wests Tigers counterpart Barry O’Farrell sent their apologies, all the other powerbrokers backed the move during a half-hour conversation that began at 10:30am.

The appointment is expected to be rubber-stamped at a board meeting of the Australian Rugby League Commission scheduled for Wednesday.

The club and state heads felt there will be sufficient guardrails in place to ensure protections given V’landys will have unprecedented control over the game. His tenure will be for an initial three-year term, a move V’landys proposed to ensure appropriate governance.

If there is a dispute between V’landys, the clubs and states will be able to negotiate with a lead independent director, who will be tasked to help resolve the impasse.

While that role won’t be appointed until V’landys ascends to his position, sources not authorised to speak publicly said ARL commissioners Peter Beattie and Gary Weiss are the leading contenders.

Once V’landys takes the job, he will set a date to finish at Racing NSW, where he has been the chief executive officer for 22 years.

V’landys is becoming executive chairman without calling a vote of clubs and states to amend the game’s constitution, which states that commissioners cannot be the CEO or an employee. Instead, he is relying on clause 53 of the document, which allows for the creation of other positions “from time to time” which can be occupied by members of the commission.

The sidestepping of constitutional change could be tested in court, but the unanimous support he received on Saturday suggests the key stakeholders have confidence in the direction V’landys is leading the game.

More to come

Adrian Proszenko is the Chief Rugby League Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.

Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.