Moving on: Shane Richardson is leaving the Rabbitohs to take up a post with the NRL. Credit:Christopher Pearce It also illuminates NRL chief executive Dave Smith's apparent lack of faith in his head of football, Todd Greenberg, who'll be wondering right now just how much actual football he'll now be the head of. Discussions between Smith and Richardson have been ongoing for months. There had been strong talk that Richardson had fallen out of favour with billionaire James Packer, who late last year took over from Peter Holmes a Court as co-owner of the club alongside his good mate Crowe. It's not so.

Smith has been sniffing around various figures for some time, wanting them to come on board to help him take charge of an unsteady ship. There might be doubts about his ability to lead this game - and rumours persist about his own tenure at the NRL - but the man is no fool. He has heard the calls of dissatisfaction from many corners of the game about the lack of rugby league knowledge and nous at the NRL. Richardson not only brings with him four decades of rugby league experience, he also holds an intimate knowledge of something more fundamental: he understands the politics. He was close to former chief executive David Gallop, but wasn't afraid to cross him.

He has been prepared to say a word to Crowe that not many people in this world are prepared to say: "No". He has been outspoken on all manner of issues concerning the game, because he deeply cares about it. And there are some major issues bulging from the manila folder sitting on his desk at League Central, which he will join from March. Atop them is the next broadcast and digital rights deal. Packer and fellow Channel Ten shareholder Lachlan Murdoch - the co-chairman of News Corp - are said to be salivating at the thought of wresting the rights to rugby league from Packer's former mate David Gyngell at Nine.

Channel Seven boss Kerry Stokes is also said to be circling like a great white off the Newcastle coastline. Whoever gets it will need to throw open the chequebook with a figure of $2 billion - no, that's not a typo - already being suggested. Whatever happens, Smith and Richardson need to ensure the game is no longer television's subordinate. Rugby league needs to take control of itself again. Next up, expansion. A team in Perth, central Queensland or second teams in Brisbane or New Zealand? Or all of the above? Then there are the convoluted pathways strangling the junior ranks, squeezing out talent and pushing them to other codes. The sooner the National Youth Competition is abolished the better. A rookie draft will be high on Richardson's agenda.

Indeed, there is much to do, but there is probably no greater figure in the code outside of Phil Gould to help stabilise the game. Richardson has been the face of Souths for many years, but his importance to the club has often been underplayed. This column remembers a time in 2008 when he was spirited back into the role of chief executive in place of Holmes a Court. The excitement of a Hollywood star owning a footy side had dulled. The club was struggling to attract players. "But I've signed the great Cosmo Kramer!" Richardson joked down the phone, referring to the signing of centre Colin Best from Canberra.

Richardson then went about signing the best young forward in the world, Sam Burgess, although Crowe has often been credited for sealing the deal. He signed the best emerging coach in the world, Michael Maguire. He became a father figure to Greg Inglis, who was a heartbeat away from signing with AFL powerhouse Essendon. He did this while balancing a fickle and often short-fused owner in Crowe, other factions still fighting a war on behalf of dumped patriarch George Piggins, and an expectant fan base desperate for a premiership. After playing a major role in putting a broken Souths back together again, he should be able to fix rugby league in his lunch hour.