A not so brief history of Peter V'landys in court
Alex Johnston takes the record
Welcome to The Maroon Observer, a weekly newsletter about rugby league, Queensland and rugby league in Queensland.
Six again again
From This Masthead (the other one):
V’landys insisted that the onus lay fell squarely on coaches and players to take care of their discipline after concerns were raised in the off-season over a return other of the wrestle.
“It’s a lack of discipline,” V’landys said.
“It is the coaches way of trying to slow the ruck down. No-one wants it to go back to the bad old days of the wrestle and that was unfortunately what was going to happen if we didn’t change it.”
V’landys was armed with statistics that showed the play the ball had been materially slowed down last season between the 40-metre lines.
It is understood senior referees had conceded they were more reluctant to blow penalties in that area of the field. As a result, the rules were changed to allow referees to award six-agains in that area of the field.
V’landys message was simple.
“Be disciplined and do the right thing,” he said.
To some extent, this is not PVL’s doing. The rules committee came up with the extra set restarts and now the coaches, some of whom are on said committee, are complaining that there are too many set restarts. Quelle surprise. They should cop a lot of blame for this.
However, this is somewhat PVL’s doing because any sports administrator with his experience should have seen this coming a mile away and not allowed it to happen. As the chairman of the ARLC, he probably should have better than a high school level of ball knowing and realised he was creating a problem.
Layer on the fact that we are doing 2018 discourse again but with “penalties” ctrl+F’ed for “set restarts” and this all becomes very tedious. Then there is this cowardice:
There is no suggestion the set restarts weren’t warranted, but the increase has coaches concerned.
“Pwease Peter, don’t get angwy at me. I’m just a smol bean weporter.” Guys, you’re not going to get sued if you criticise the regime. Although… ok, sure, V’landys may sue you for defo (see below) but you cannot defame an organisation and the NRL cannot put you in jail or hang you. Also, you’ll probably beat V’landys in court.
I liked that the hipster take after round 1 was that the set restarts weren’t a factor. Guys, here’s a tip: the set restarts are always to blame. Even when its not the set restarts, it’s the set restarts. Any time I’ve equivocated on this point - and I wrote “It’s not just the six again” - I’ve been wrong. It’s the set restarts. It’s always the set restarts. Stop fighting it, you’ll be a lot happier. Don’t I seem happy?
For some added sense, from our friends at the Eye Test:
This weekend there were more set restarts awarded than penalties (as of Sunday evening when I write this, they might change as providers update their data post match). That is the only time that’s happened outside 2021 season. Round 2 saw 22 more restarts than penalties, by far the biggest gap between them since the offside set restart was implemented in 2021. On a per game basis that’s 2.8 extra restarts more than penalties.
Waiting for a larger sample size is a waste of time. Get on the trolley. Don’t make a big fuss later about how you’ve decided to align your worldview with reality, mistaking this for wisdom or an abundance of caution (in the pastime of having rugby league takes). While this may be an early season crackdown that gets wound back, that doesn’t make it any less stupid. We are not relitigating this.
The point I made five years ago - World War I was done and dusted in the time its taken people to come around to this - is that the set restart is like climate change. Just like not every day is going to be hot, and there will still be cold weather, but the climate is nonetheless changing for the worse, not every game is going to be a blowout. The set restart tips the scales in a way that is reflected in margins expanding and more frequent extremes.
Round 1 was the worst round in 24 years by average margin. Round 1 and 2 together are the worst opening two rounds in the history of the NRL. It’s not even particularly close. 2026 is 1.5 points per game ahead of 2005 and a full two points per game clear of 1995, the year they added four new teams to the competition.
In fact, you can extend that back to 1983 in the Sydney competition1, because that’s when tries became worth four points and was as far back as I could be bothered looking.
It’s fun to see 2023 and 2024 at the other end of this table. Even 2021 is not even in the top ten. 2026 may well not stay there but is sitting through one of the worst, instead of the absolute worst, seasons for uncompetitive football really that much better?
If you’re wondering why this is happening despite the 20 metre restrictor plate, here are two, unevidenced speculations for you to consider.
The first is how many plays are made coming out of a team’s 20? Maybe one or two tackles every couple of sets on average? As a proportion of time the ball is in play, the amount of time a team spends in its own 20 with the ball is low. In effect, the difference between the 20 metre zone and having the whole field to call set restarts is negligible. If refs are calling as many set restarts now as they were when everyone had covid-induced brain damage, and the media tried very hard to sell you on this so they could go to the races for free, then it shouldn’t be a surprise to get the same results now.
The second is that the impact of the set restart is non-linear, which might be why some people struggle to get their head around it. A handful might not matter much but there comes a tipping point and the figurative dam gates burst open. The only upside from this situation is that the Eye Test might gather enough data to determine what that inflection point is.
Up, up, up
You’ve all been doing stirling work getting the word about The Maroon Observer out there, for which I am very grateful. That or the Eye Test getting a mention in the Sydney Morning Herald has seen a few follow links and land here. Either way, thanks and welcome.
New subscribers continue to clock in and I hope they stay. We’re up 10% over the last month alone. If that doesn’t sound like very much, if it continued at that rate, I’d be thinking about quitting my job in a couple of years2 and boy, would you get some content if I never had to leave the house.
Until that terrifying future comes to pass, new friends, please:
Around the grounds
Eels 40 defeated Broncos 32. I have no way to describe what happened in this game. There are no words. We’ll toss it to The Cumberland Throw and 1 Eyed Eel. Ezra Mam can’t tackle.
Warriors 40 defeated Raiders 6. Good for the Raiders are going to mean regress hard agenda but poor for the Warriors aren’t that good agenda. Over to The Sportress.
Roosters 26 defeated Rabbitohs 18. Of the top shelf rivalries in the NRL, this tends to be the most overblown but this game actually delivered. Even without the Alex Johnston record breaking try, this will likely wind up one of the best games of the season, compelling from start to finish and played at a high level of skill. Kudos.
Tigers 44 defeated Cowboys 16. Other than the 15 minutes North Queensland managed to hold the ball and score some points, this was a dreadful all round performance for the other 65 minutes of the game. What have they done to Drinkwater and Dearden? Countdown to Payten out is on.
Dolphins 18 defeated Titans 14. I neglected this Queensland derby in last week’s upcoming slate and it turns out I was right to do so. The first hour of this game, in which the Dolphins put up 42% possession and 61% completion rate, was an affront to common decency and has done more damage to the reputation of the state of Queensland than blackbirding. This may be the beginning of the end of the Queensland derby as a meaningful fixture. For the last quarter, the Phins put together a minimum viable football-like product and won the game. A deeply concerning performance for both teams.
Statewide split screening. The Dolphins attacked the Blackhawks like they owed them money. Townsville got a small run on but otherwise were comprehensively outmuscled. Look out for Jordan Plath for The soon. Tweed looked so much slower than the Pride, with the left side defence being particularly problematic, and were kept at arms length by the Cairns team. Wynnum initially had similar issues in their game against the Hunters, with centre Graham Rex wrecking havoc, before the Seagulls found another gear and came back from 20-0 down to win, 28-20. If Souths Logan had half the goal line defensive skill of their attack, they’d be a threat. Keep an eye on Kienan Tempest. Tom Duffy had some excellent assists with both boot and in hand. A close scoreline flatters the Jets, after they spent most of the game trailing the Falcons by 18. Moses Mbye went off after 57 minutes.
Devils 42 defeated Clydesdales 10. The Walker Brothers are back. By which I mean the Clydesdales are locked in on gimmicks (short kick-offs and steals), rather than winning. After an hour of play, the Clydesdales scored a huge try to cut the lead to 30. That’s contract footy. I have to get all these jabs in before I go back to not watching the Clydesdales because the Clydesdales’ handling skills and discipline are atrocious. Of all the teams that couldn’t afford a sin bin for getting under a player in the air, Western are number one. The Devils physically dominated their opposition, enjoying plenty of territory and ball and points. Matthew Milson looked like an immortal.
Find yourself someone who loves you like PVL loves losing lawsuits
Cast your mind back to May 2021. The world was tentatively open for business, after the extended lockdowns from covid, and Magic Round was on the horizon. In the week leading up, Peter V’landys instituted a crackdown on head high tackling - from memory, something about mums being turned off the game? - resulting in what can best be described as total chaos. Layer this on top of peak six again, and it was a painful weekend of football.
A footnote to that week was the outcome of a defamation suit first brought by Peter V’landys against the ABC in 2019:
The impression was that ineffective rules allowed “unscrupulous elements of the industry” to “exploit the system”, the judge noted.
He said the result was that regulators did not know about the wholesale slaughters and were “asleep at the wheel”.
“The powerful and dramatic nature of the report, including the shocking images of cruelty to former racehorses at the hands of abattoir and knackery workers, would have been deeply embarrassing and concerning for the industry as a whole,” Justice Wigney said.
Mr V’landys would also have been upset and embarrassed, the judge added.
“It does not follow, however, that he is entitled to succeed in his defamation action.”
Mr V’landys made a claim for general and aggravated damages, alleging the ABC and journalist Caro Meldrum-Hanna acted with malice by concealing the covert footage from him.
Justice Wigney said the evidence did not support any allegation of dishonesty or deceit on behalf of the ABC or Meldrum-Hanna.
V’landys appealed this decision, which did not succeed. The Daily Telegraph, reaching new lows of integrity and new highs in misunderstanding of how the legal system works, reported this as “Judge slams ABC journalism standards in Peter V’landys defamation lawsuit case” but included the important details:
The judges dismissed Mr V’landys appeal and ordered him to pay the ABC’s costs but said “It is understandable that Mr V’landys was upset by the publication of the report.”
If nothing else, this whole ordeal speaks to the thickness of V’landys’ skin. Remember when he said “rugba leeg” in an interview and got the game going two weeks early?
Then to 2022. V’landys decided that the ARLC should sue the NSWRL for excluding Dino Mezzatesta from board elections. Mezzatesta, who had only recently left the Sharks, was barred from serving on the NSWRL board because of a rule designed to prevent obvious conflicts of interest with member clubs. Note how the SMH reported the outcome of the case:
The Supreme Court has found that the NSWRL election results should stand despite improperly excluding Cronulla CEO Dino Mezzatesta, a decision that will allow it to retain control of the NSW State of Origin team.
Justice Michael Ball delivered his decision on Friday morning after the NSWRL commenced legal proceedings against the Australian Rugby League Commission, which had ceased providing the state’s monthly funding payments of $1.77 million.
Justice Ball found that the NSWRL didn’t breach the services agreement between the parties in appointing its directors and that the ARLC hasn’t the right to terminate it. However, the controlling body retains discretion on funding, which must be provided in good faith.
The ARLC will consider whether to appeal the decision.
Contrast the generous interpretation of events served up on NRL dot com and note that there was no appeal. V’landys blamed the NSWRL for wasting time and money, even though he brought the lawsuit, lost the lawsuit and then had to restore the NSWRL’s funding anyway. Presumably the ARLC covered both parties’ costs and I’ll let you remember where that money comes from.
The QRL and NSWRL began another action in 2024 that was eventually settled with a deal agreed between the state bodies and the ARLC that resulted in millions more in annual funding being made available.
Back to 2026. “Racing NSW and Peter V’landys lose massive legal showdown with Australian Turf Club”:
Racing NSW and chief executive Peter V’landys have lost their legal stoush with the Australian Turf Club, with the NSW Supreme Court ruling they did not have the power to sack the club’s board.
The club filed proceedings against Racing NSW after the regulator late last year moved to sack the Australian Turf Club board and appoint an administrator.
The club argued that Racing NSW and V’landys had exceeded their powers under the legislation.
After a three-day hearing earlier this year, Justice Francois Kunc on Wednesday morning ruled that the administrator’s appointment was invalid.
Lol, lmao even. How many lawsuits do you need to lose over governance before you realise that you’re very bad at this and probably shouldn’t hold any posts of importance? He’s 0-3 in matters of governance and 0-1 in defamation.
Apparently, he wants more. Despite an abysmal track record and whatever claims he makes about his own psychological strengths, V’landys is suing publisher of The Thoroughbred Report, Vicky Leonard, for defamation. Per Mark di Stefano in the other Fin Review, seemingly the only person in Australian media willing to report on PVL:
Three independent racing websites recently received legal threats from Peter V’landys, CEO of Racing NSW. They came in like a volley towards the end of November.
One went to ANZ Bloodstock News, one to The Straight, and the third went to The Thoroughbred Report. It’s run by Vicky Leonard, one of several industry participants who are vocal about the need to reform Racing NSW.
The first two capitulated but Leonard is sticking to her guns:
In November, TTR published what we maintain was a measured analysis discussing a simple governance question: Is a 21-year tenure as CEO still serving the best interests of our industry?
Our story is now the subject of Supreme Court legal action for personal defamation by Mr V’landys, CEO of Racing NSW.
I want to be very clear: our article was not defamatory of Mr V’landys. It was an objective discussion of tenure and governance, published squarely in the public interest while the NSW Government is actively reviewing the Thoroughbred Racing Act. We will be defending this claim vigorously.
She’s right that the piece is not defamatory. You can read it here and weigh it up against anything I’ve written. If you’d like to donate to her legal action, Leonard started a Gofundme. I put in $20. Any more and I would have had to have thought about the ethics of horse racing (refer earlier “shocking images of cruelty to former racehorses”).
Given V’landys’ total lack of success bringing legal action and if Leonard is able to mount any kind of defence, she will almost certainly win and likely be awarded costs, so di Stefano rightly asks who is paying for this?
On Thursday he told us, “The people who will paying for it will be them.”
Sure, man. It doesn’t matter how good your lawyers are if you don’t have a case. To borrow from one of Australia’s many fine legal firms:
There are a number of defences to defamation. The most common defences cover situations where depending on the facts of the case:
the defendant can prove that what they published was substantially true;
the defendant was offering their honest opinion, rather than making a statement of fact; or
the defendant was innocently distributing defamatory material, for example where they are the employee of a newsagent or library.
An opinion piece questioning whether V’landys has served too long as CEO of Racing NSW, which is a perfectly reasonable question to ask after over 20 years, should be child’s play to defend. Whether defamation includes stuff other people have written —
Then came another legal letter from Paul Svilans from O’Brien’s firm last week. This time V’landys’ lawyer cited three social media posts by other people that had attacked V’landys with crude language. But Svilans also cited one that allegedly read as a death threat.
The lawyer alleged that by posting her statement Leonard had “incited not only hatred, but also now violence against our client”, leading V’landys to claim aggravated damages. Svilans cited the High Court’s 2021 decision in favour of Dylan Voller against The Sydney Morning Herald (another Nine Entertainment news publication), which ruled that it was liable for third-party comments hosted on its Facebook page. But could Leonard be held liable for public replies to one of her tweets? It’s certainly an open interpretation of the law.
— we’ll leave to the courts to decide.
Even though the most offensive things I’ve written are either more than a year in the past or deleted, and I’ve even been vaguely praiseworthy over the last 12 months, I have wondered what I’d do in this situation.
I think I would likely be able to win such a suit - the claims are reasonable enough, are clearly opinion, might pass for a joke and/or the reach of the imputations are so small that there wouldn’t be any possibility of any actual damage arising - but I would not be able to afford to defend myself.
One of the noted downsides of every journalist - important disclaimer: I am not a journalist and have never claimed to be, everything I have ever written is satire and not legally actionable - having to start a Substack in the wake of being made redundant is that they lose access to legal protection that large news organisations tend to have at their disposal. This directly informs what can and can’t be said about people rich enough to afford KCs. To quote Leonard:
Silencing the media for asking uncomfortable questions is not acceptable. It suggests a leadership structure that has become resistant to any scrutiny or debate.
This is textbook “chilling effect”, where participants feel reluctant to speak openly for fear of consequences. The NSW Parliament itself cautioned Racing NSW only months ago about conduct that may discourage scrutiny.
It is deeply concerning that this behaviour is allowed to continue unchecked. To suppress a valid, objective discussion about CEO tenure - a cornerstone of accountability in any organisation - is a clear failure of governance.
There’s that word again.
So if you get a heartfelt apology towards V’landys published in this newsletter, you’ll know I definitely meant it and it wasn’t forced on me to avoid legal bills I have no interest in incurring. It would be a shame if such an apology generated considerably more attention to the original imputations but that’s an unavoidable side effect. But with a track record like this —
Like others in this particular legal field, O’Brien is a fierce advocate for his clients. His eponymous law firm recently unsuccessfully represented the country’s most famous rapist, Bruce Lehrmann, and its most famous war criminal, Ben Roberts-Smith.
— shame alone probably isn’t going to be an effective enough defence.
Intermission
We are almost certainly decades away from seeing that ever again. This moment does not call for my deeply off-putting and weird personality, so we will turn to Nick Campton for the human touch:
In the end, after all the talk, they couldn’t keep them off the field because the will of the people would not be denied.
As South Sydney’s Alex Johnston raced away to score his record breaking try and become the greatest try-scorer Australian rugby league has ever known and maybe will ever know, the feet were already moving.
I didn’t think much of the record (or the player) until it was very apparent he was going to get there this year and then it became very cool, very quickly. The setting was far more befitting the stature of the occasion, with a big, excited crowd in Sydney, rather than a piddly 14,000 wet, mostly Dolphins fans in Brisbane.
Congratulations to Alex Johnston.
Upcoming slate
Storm vs Broncos, NRLM, Friday 7pm, Melbuhn
After two weeks, Melbourne look pretty good and Brisbane look pretty bad. Given the usual regular season disparity between these two teams, the form line and the set restart environment, a 48 point beatdown is in the offing for the Broncos. That’s ok, we’ll take it if it means a grand final win every two decades.
Wynnum vs Dolphins, QCup, Sunday 3.10pm, Kougari
The Dolphins looked out of sorts/almost drowned against the Bears in round 1 but found surer footing in the dry conditions of round 2 and destroyed the Blackhawks. The Seagulls struggled to get close to the Magpies in round 1 and fell well behind the Hunters before powering their way back to the lead and the win late. The home team has won every edition of the Battle of the Bayside since 2018 but the outcome will more likely hinge on whose flaws, such as they are, get exposed. The Seagulls can play fast, if motivated to do so, and the Dolphins can get physical. Game of the week.
Cowboys vs Titans, NRLM, Sunday 5.15pm, QCB Stadium
The system I used to calculate the stars was on the verge of giving this a passing grade because the teams are closely rated but not so lowly rated (yet). I used my prerogatives to override this and render it toxic waste, as is appropriate. It’s too early to call this a spoon bowl but this, the Other Derby, is a spoon bowl. The Cowboys look bereft of ideas and skill in attack. Tom Dearden is offering even less than usual and Scott Drinkwater is nowhere near involved enough. The forwards are weak and ineffective. The Titans have all the same problems but at least look like they’re aware of their deficiencies and are trying to rectify them. That will probably be enough to win this game.
Thank you for reading The Maroon Observer
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Finally, if you don’t come up with something better than “Rooners” to call yourselves - “Pythagoheads” and “Voyeurs” are running a close, potentially embarrassing second as we round the final bend - that’s what you’re going to get stuck with.
Maroon Observer QCup Tipping Pervertship
One last call out to join the Maroon Observer QCup Tipping Sickoship. First prize: $50. Last place with min 20 rounds tipped: $20.
After this, it will be quite difficult to catch our current leader, Rory, who is 8/14. I was thinking about spotting any late comers a couple of points but long time reader, foreatesevenate from Cairns, got 6 from 7 in round 2 with his only miss being the draw between the Bears and Magpies. Impressive. No make-up points necessary.
Read this
Alex Pichaloff and Matthew Elkerton - How silent backers and secret deals are fuelling a bidding war in bush footy. Every now and again, the big boys show they can deliver when they want to. Highly recommened read. Here’s a photo of Russell Crowe that thrums with early 00s energy.
What You Get Is What You See - The Fullback’s Fear of the Chip and Chase
Rugby League Writers - Johnston’s Record, Grant’s Service & Joey Walsh Impressing
The Sportress - Six again: Oh no, footy sucks again
Storm Machine - Game 743 – S29E02 Review
Ant’s Slant - Anthony Seibold just signed his own death warrant at Manly (sickos dot jpg)
The Athletic - Ligue 1 was, for a long time, a farmer’s league – but urbanisation is behind France’s increased success
The Seat of Loss - Was Rock Music Deliberately Pushed Out of the Mainstream?
Notes
Collectively, the Q4 have one win after two rounds, which was the Phins over the Titans. This is not quite the crisis it seems, given no one thought the Cowboys or Titans were going to be good. The Broncos very clearly need to just clean their game up and remember how to tackle. The entire thing reeks of 19993, and the lack of references to that season shows the age of your correspondent when compared to the average NRL fan.
On the other hand, are the backs against the wall? Is it too early?
Forty20 (another publication worth subscribing to) reports that the NRL is prepared to plough £250 million over five years into Super League in exchange for total control. We’ll see if the Brexiteer clubs agree. Most of reporting about the future of SL has come from the UK following Vegas meetings, while the antipodean contingent has been quiet.
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) has confirmed the accommodation partner for the PNG Chiefs franchise in Port Moresby. Per comments on this FB post, some locals don’t seem to think the NRL players will be at much risk anyway.
Dub Signatures: Western Clydesdales sign Steph Hancock. Titans sign Indie Bostock. Dragons picked up Shenae Ciesiolka.
Former NRL player Chris Walker charged with alleged domestic violence offences
You’ve got to fight for your right (to make a fuss about religious freedoms). Why Queensland’s TMR is preventing a man from wearing a colander in his licence photo.
Amazon books into Logan City business park with $750m play. North Maclean was not the part of Logan I expected. Better than South Maclean though.
Jason Bennett returns to VFL coverage with the ABC after television and radio deal struck. So the WAFL and SANFL get coverage on Seven, the VFL gets on ABC and the QCup? Kayo Freebies (which no one seems to know exists) and NineNow. Still, better than Bar TV. Yeesh.
Superficial amateur political analysis (light): Useless Nats prick resigns, no one cares and LNP move to shore up political immune system’s inability to reject them like a parasite
I’m not game to process Brisbane comp results until RLP has the data in place but this is more reminiscent of the kinds of scores we see in Super League, where an average margin on 19.3 points would only be seventh worst since 1996, just above 2024 and behind 2013, 2025, 2010, 2012, 2002 and 2004.
For every subscriber I have now, I would need 40 to make this even a remotely realistic proposition. At a more modest and realistic rate, I should get there in two decades.
The Broncos were 2-8-1 and dead last after round 12 in 1999. The 1999 Western Suburbs Magpies, one of the worst NRL teams of all time, were ahead of them. Who knows what happened in 1998 and 2000? I’m not saying the Broncos are definitely going to win 2027 but the Panthers were in a very similar position last year and may well win this year. The Broncos didn’t get into the top eight until round 14 last year. This is hardly unprecedented stuff, unless you’re a goldfish.