'Picked on' amid crisis: Mal Meninga not happy with NRL's Todd Greenberg axing
A shocked Mal Meninga has questioned the timing of Todd Greenberg's departure and claimed he has become a scapegoat in his exit as NRL chief executive.
Greenberg and the NRL's "mutual" decision to part ways on Monday came after months of pressure from clubs and the game's broadcast partners.
Kangaroos coach Meninga paid tribute to Greenberg's support of the international game, which has grown significantly during his time as NRL boss.
The NRL has come under significant fire from the Nine Network in recent weeks for what they claimed was the financial mismanagement of the $1.8 billion TV deal under Greenberg.
Greenberg also had his opposers in clubs, amid fears some could go bust as the game lacked a significant rainy day fund once the coronavirus hit.
Of note had been claims by clubs they hadn't been paid in full a promised amount by the NRL since the stoppage, forcing chairman Peter V'landys to step in and resolve the issue.
However, on Greenberg's watch the game's revenue has increased dramatically, albeit in a time where expenditure has also been significantly on the rise.
But Meninga said any lack of real reserves couldn't be pinned on Greenberg alone.
"For me if he is to blame, everyone has to be to blame about where the game has gone over the past few years," Meninga told Fox League Live.
"And in my opinion I think it (the game) is looking really good.
"I know there have been some financial issues at the moment but does that go on Todd?
"It's like a coach. If a club is not being successful, you can't look at the administration, you can't look at the players so you got the coach and he gets the sack.
"Because he's is the easy one, the easy option for you. I would assume it's the same with the game.
"There are a lot of people around Todd that make some tough decisions through the year.
"The CFO, the football manager, the executive. And then all of a sudden the head guy falls on his sword."
Meninga also claimed other heads would have to roll as a result, as the focus now intensifies on the NRL office.
But the rugby league immortal said the game had to be united in its bid to get back on the field, adding to his frustration over Greenberg's exit.
"I am upset in a way because why do we have to pick on him now?" Meninga said
"We are going through this crisis where we need to be all together.
"We need to sit on the same page and move forward together and instead of bagging people and making some accusations about people.
"Let's get on the same page and get the game back on the field."
🎣
Replies
Sorry Mal, but that is the lot of the top dog. It is his responsibility to be across all that, that is why he got the big bucks. No one is suggesting that everything is entirely Greenbergs fault, others have been enablers, (looking at you John Grant), but in the end he is ultimately responsible for the day to day matters of the ARLC, and he has failed profoundly in all the areas that really matter.
The growth in revenues has largely been down to a substantial growth in broadcast revenues, which are actually the least affected by the CEO's performance. Broadcast revenues are largely down to the performance of the players & the broadcasters themselves, not the games administrators. Even the contract negotiations are largely handled by the head kickers on the Commission itself.
To be fair commercial revenues are rising, but based on this years annual report, the costs of those increases has massively exceeded any such increases in income. Not exactly something to hang your hat on.
The growth of the International game can be largely attributed to Jason Taumalolo's & Andrew Fifita's decisions to play for Tonga instead of the Kiwis. Again, not a significant feather in Todd's cap.
In short Mal, no one is "picking on" Todd Greenberg, his position had simply become untenable due to his own performance. COVID-19 was the proverbial fly in the ointment that brought it all to a head.
They are good points Brett; and maybe Mal feels the extras associated with the rep teams may be trimmed down. People cannot argue the point of a bloated NRL admin and the wages paid for some should be evaluated. The NRL can spin the stats about kids playing league etc but the focus has been lost in the grass roots area which is something TG often spoke about.
Thats spot on Brissy and i for one have forgotten some of the issues he has been associated with. There has been many. And yes maybe not everything is his fault but he has been the boss of many stuff ups and more importantly inconsistencies and also mismanagement. He was also v big and rightly so about Parra's salary cap ordeal but other items seemed to be less of an ordeal.
IMO he has also presided over the political correctness of the game and personally i find this less about the game of league and more about political interference in sport. It has lost some fans such as myself who regularly tune out.
Greenburg will go away for a while and come back somewhere else like many of these administrators have done; Castle is another one; she came to league with so much fanfare and was moved from C'bury to Union where it is also in dire straits. Something tells me these poeple did not have right business / common sense grassroots acumen required in the first place.
They have a common denominator, they are too focused on peripheral issues, that whilst valuable & important in their own way, simply did not deserve the time or emphasis that both spent on them, which in turn made them into much bigger issues than they should ever have been.
Exactly - their main brief is rugby league; not political issues. I have quite a few colleagues / mates similar age to me (40's.....and counting) who have lost interest with the game.
Mitchy in line with your comments he was quoted this week as saying that his proudest moment in his NRL career was the formation of the NRLW
While this is a good achievement it should not be top of the list for achievements in the NRL
Thanks John, and as they say that will do me.....game set and match TG. While that is good (and warm and fuzzy) they should also be focussing on the varying levels of boys moving in and out of the game; and while the they have made changes in QLD this again seems to be in order to reduce the competitiveness of the game in my view and make it dumbed down.
Meninga will also be running for political office soon so like Pathetic Batty I have no confidence Mal has the best interests of the game at heart. imoatt.
I somehow don't think Mal will be running for any political parties.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt--SGmIKIQ
Mal is nothing but a hypocrite.
He says GreenTURD is an easy target and everyone is "picking on him" because he is the head guy and like a coach he is the 1st in the firing line when things are not going right. Where was his big mouth when Garth Brennan was being picked on? He was fine to take a step back and let Brennan take the fall without the admin nor players being blamed for anything.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next