The players are angry and they're pointing the finger directly at Todd Greenberg for mismanaging the NRL's finances according to 9News reporter Danny Weidler.
Speaking on Sky Sports Radio's Big Sports Breakfast this morning, Weidler stopped short of claiming that the players wanted Greenberg's head but claimed
"a lot of players in the game are very unhappy with what he has done".
"Since late last week I have had players on the phone to me and we are trying to play happy families, but the honest situation is the players are definitely unhappy with what is going on," Weidler said.
"Firstly with the way everything has been mismanaged by the NRL. They just cannot believe how badly it has been done.
"They now want transparency. They want to see the books and audits. But they are just dirty.
"They are dirty on the management of the game and most of their anger rightly or wrongly is being directed at Todd Greenberg.
"It is probably too far to say the players want him gone, but there are a lot of players within the game that are very unhappy with what he has done."
It's somewhat ironic that Greenberg appeared to be headed for the axe in the days before COVID-19 took its grip on Australia, with the pandemic seemingly giving the NRL chief executive a stay of execution.
At that time the biggest story in the game was the ARL Commission's review of Greenberg's performance, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.
In one 9News interview with Danny Weidler, the Commission's chairman
Peter V'landys made the remarkable admission that there was sentiment from within the game that Greenberg was "arrogant".
According to some reports, that statement, combined with moves behind the scenes, indicated that Greenberg was on the outer and was unlikely to see out the season.
However, the NRL's fight to keep the competition rolling through the coronavirus crisis put Greenberg's future down the list of priorities. The perilous financial position the subsequent suspension of the season put the NRL in then made it impossible for the Commission to justify Greenberg's sacking.
The optics of a large payout in this time of austerity would be impossible to sell to the players or the public.
When asked
whether Greenberg's job was safe following the NRL's decision to suspend the competition, V'landys said: "Absolutely. Todd's done a great job in very hard times, as has all the executive team here.
"They've done countless hours and I can't thank them enough for all their efforts, because we've got a hard road ahead and we're going to need everyone at the wheel."
Greenberg will reportedly take leave without pay as soon as talks with the broadcasters, Nine and Fox Sports, are concluded.
The CEO and the rest of his executive team had already agreed to a 25 per cent pay cut for the rest of the season but Greenberg has agreed to take the extra step of leave without pay while head office is shut during the competition's suspension.
However, the pay cuts taken by the rest of the executive team leave them better off than the players, who will lose 46 per cent of their income if the game does not return in 2020.
That point has clearly caused tension between the NRL and the Rugby League Players' Association, with RLPA CEO Clint Newton hinting as much in
an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.
"That's a question for [chairman] Peter [V'landys] and the [ARL] Commission around whether they think it's fair,'' Newton said.
"At the moment, our main priority is to secure a deal that protects the players' immediate future based on what's available, and that's what we're trying to do now.''
Newton and the NRL are meeting again today after players representatives were given an opportunity to revise the payment plan, which sees players receiving two months out of their next seven months worth of salary, yesterday afternoon.
"Two months [of pay] have been secured, and how they want to divvy that up will be determined by the individuals,'' Newton said.
"Some might want to spread it out, some might want two months upfront and do their best from there, or take one month and separate the remaining month's pay.
"There is also the ability to withdraw funds that are connected to each individual's retirement accounts. That's also part of the detail we'll work through with the NRL around the guarantees of that money being available if or when the players want it.''
