The veteran administrator and former lawyer, who also served as IOC vice president, was honoured for his contribution to Australian sport and to the university, his alma mater.
It is 12 months since the Tonga forward was hospitalised after a series of head knocks and forced to sit out the 2026 season. But that hasn’t stopped him from playing a role in his country’s World Cup campaign.
“A man of genius makes no mistakes,” wrote James Joyce in Ulysses. On recent evidence, there are no geniuses in rugby league.
NRL players are hyper-aware that one tiny slip-up in the preliminary final could end their season days short of what could have been a premiership.
Rugby League Central won’t make a major decision until approved by Peter V’landys. By contrast, AFL management is traditionally proactive.
Of the teams expected to contest the grand final, the Panthers are the most experienced; the Roosters have the most depth and the Warriors would be the NRL’s preferred premiers.
The key position within a team has shifted over the years due to changes in the rules of the game. Now, in the sped-up, six-again era, the playmaking ‘spine’ has been overtaken in importance.
Peter V’landys has never shied away from making big calls. So here is my suggestion to help rugby league capitalise on its $5.3b TV windfall and grow the game overseas.
Origin is faster, the gaps close quicker and the defence is more disciplined than in the NRL. Nathan Cleary will have more space and can do more damage outside Mitchell Moses.
Players, coaches and media often define games in terms of a crucial try, tackle or sin-binning. But that ignores the unseen plays that build the pressure that causes them.