Peter V’landys hires Mark Gasnier for senior NRL participation role

Gasnier, 45, a former Test centre and 2010 premiership winner with St George Illawarra, will focus on driving participation. The nephew of late Immortal Reg Gasnier played 15 Tests for Australia and 12 State of Origin games for NSW before retiring in 2011. He later developed Tri Tag Rugby, a non-contact variation of rugby union, and licensed it to Rugby Australia.

A spokesman for the NRL said the governing body did not comment on internal appointments. However, Gasnier's recruitment is the latest in a series of changes under V'landys, who became full-time executive chairman after Andrew Abdo left in July to become Tennis Australia's CEO. Several senior executives have departed the NRL's Moore Park headquarters, including John Wilson, a 17-year veteran who left to become chief executive of Australian OzTag.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Gasnier last year founded a sports technology app, Let's Play, before selling it. He retains a small stake and a board seat; the majority shareholder is investment fund manager Salter Brothers. He had designs on acquiring the rights to flag football in Australia and attended the Super Bowl this year with a Salter Partners portfolio manager.

Gasnier formerly worked for OzTag and more recently held a small role on the coaching staff of Parramatta's Jason Ryles. He spent seven years as a Fox Sports commentator and was briefly registered as an NRL player agent.

There has long been speculation that the NRL would buy OzTag, a move that would allow rugby league to claim more than 200,000 additional participants, but it has never materialised. The NRL has a partnership with OzTag for programs such as development in schools.