Awww... Toddy, you just brought a tear to my eye. Such a compassionate guy that wants the best for the game.
Serious concerns have been raised about the financial management of a billion-dollar broadcast deal under his watch, but NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg says he doesn't feel like a 'dead man walking'.
After four seasons in rugby league's top job, questions have been raised about Greenberg's management and the financial model that has NRL headquarters running at a yearly cost of $182 million.
And while the NRL has been forced to look at the entire expenditure and confront inefficiencies in spending in the face of the coronavirus crisis, many have asked how rugby league has been able to fall to its knees so rapidly.
Prior to the suspension of the season, Greenberg's contract was the subject of headline fodder given it expires in October, but over the past month, it has taken a back seat to the effects of the coronavirus on the competition.
However, Greenberg has come under intense criticism for not immediately taking an equivalent pay cut to NRL players, and with the financial model now reset for the next few months, attention has once again turned to his future as the game's boss.
"It doesn't feel like (I'm a dead man walking), it feels like I'm working a lot of hours," Greenberg told Fox Sports on Friday.
"I've got to say we've had great support from our chairman Peter V'landys and the entire commission.
"We feel very supported and I think I'm encouraged by the fact that there's been so much support to try to drive the game forward.
"Of course there's going to be criticism. I'm a realist, I take that criticism primarily in the title and in the role that comes with the game.
"That criticism will continue to come. I see that as part of the rugby league landscape that any senior administrator or leader in a role like mine has to take that.
"I think the primary criticism is around the game's distribution model and cost base sustainable for the future. I think that's a question that we have to answer."
It's an issue Greenberg says every sport and business in Australia is now dealing with.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys will ultimately have the final say on whether Greenberg will remain CEO when talks resume later in the year.
However, he continues to insist he is in no rush to secure his future.
"Peter and I have had pretty strong working relationship over the last month or so I would have to say, I don't think anyone on my phone, including my wife, is higher up on the call sheet than the chairman," Greenberg said.
"He and I have spoken regularly over the last month and worked our way through this period together.
"I've maintained throughout the whole year that my future is almost irrelevant through this. It's the game's future.
"I'm just going to put my head down, work really hard and do the best I can for this sport and ultimately these are decisions for the commission and the chairman later in the year once we get ourselves back onto an even keel."
