Sacked. Received your comeuppance in full.
"In February 2026, text messages surfaced in a New South Wales Supreme Court case involving player Zac Lomax's attempt to join the Melbourne Storm from the Parramatta Eels. During a contract dispute, Melbourne Storm CEO Justin Rodski sent a text to NRL CEO Andrew Abdo asking the governing body to "apply the blow torch" on the Parramatta Eels to resolve the release so Lomax could play.
This phrase was allegedly used by Melbourne leadership to urge the NRL to put pressure on Parramatta to accept a settlement."
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We had him by the short-ones in court until they pulled the plug. I weep for the dirt we had that went to waste.
Well if you listen to the recent Paul Kent episode he mentions, and mentioned this before today as well, the NRL seems to be a place that is miserable to work out. Very high turnover rates. Even to a point where many NRL club CEO's felt for Abdo with how PVL treated him. But also Abdo gets credited with a lot of things when PVL is the spearhead behind pretty much all of it.
I like PVL for his innovation and what he's achieved but the issue is he can get too far. When something is going well it is not "Let's sustain this" it's instead "How can we make this even better?". Right now Sydney Racing hate him, many big name trainers want him gone. So he will now be the de facto CEO for the NRL for time being.
LB, is the poll mentioned by Kent the one conducted by the RLPA? Where they 'reported' that 50% of the players no longer enjoy the game as much as they once did and 80% think the refs decide matches?
I would put almost zero confidence in those results. Or, technically speaking, their results are not too far off a coin toss. The poll I saw had a sample size of 57 (n=57), which from a small population of 510 players (Top 30 x 17 clubs) gives a margin of error of about 20% and a confidence interval of 40% and a wide width. In other words, the chance of the reported result being accurate is just shy of a coin toss.
But that's just being a statistical geek. I am sure the RLPA poll was probably designed to act as clickbait and rile up the fans! Though it is also possible the RLPA doesn't know how to interpret poll results with such a high margin of error. Or it could be Kent is a moron and would have no idea how to interpret results with such a high margin of error? Let's call it a coin toss whichever might be the best interpretation
Daz, that’s a fascinating point. I listened to Kent’s podcast after your post.
Kent claims around half the RLPA poll respondents were senior players with 8+ years experience (over 200 seasons of experience) and their concerns included:
Whether that relatively small senior sample represents the broader playing group is difficult to determine. Younger players also have less to compare with than senior players. Also, senior players have a huge influence on younger players too.
Still, optics-wise, it’s not ideal, whether it's fair or not, representive of a broader playing group or not.
It also clashes somewhat with the V’landyball marketing narrative of the game being bigger, faster, better and more entertaining than ever.
There are fans, including me, who aren’t entirely convinced either.
Average scores are now pushing beyond 50 points per game, the highest in history.
20 plus margins of blowouts are common now.
Defences rarely can withstand more than 3 minutes of sustained pressure. 3 sets, based on the best the Panthers have defended without leaking a try.
That doesn’t prove the game is “broken,” but it does suggest the ARLC and NRL should probably examine whether the balance between fatigue, speed, officiating influence and entertainment has shifted too far.
Kent’s podcast also raised concerns about potential for match-fixing; integrity perceptions in the gambling era. It would be naive to think their aren't shady things happening in the game.
Some solid sources also suggest not all referees, privately, are on board with the new rules and where the game is heading and there is bias.
With the TV deal coming up, and Abdo resigning at an interesting point in time, it's food for thought for the game’s powerbrokers.
Https://open.spotify.com/podcast-chapter/033mLydflep0JZM4e6q10M?si=...
No mention of a poll, he was saying from contacts he has that work for the NRL. He would have people he knows personally that he talks to.
Abdo was an idiot. Didn't know what he was doing.
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