If we take a step back, it is very strange a bunch of people, who were publicly and unceremoniously dismissed and had their character smeared on the way out, would return 10 days later.
The devil is in the detail.
My guess is this.
V'Landys didn't want to create a media storm by appointing an administrator. He made the agreement that O'Farrell and the other independents would be reporting directly to the NRL as a watchdog of sorts. This gave the independents enough confidence to return and gave HBG what they ultimately wanted which is board control.
I believe that, the NRL believes, it's a good solution, but it's not going to stop bad decisions being made.
Time will show their incompetence.