New Zealand Netball boss Raelene Castle has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Castle will be formally announced as Todd Greenberg’s successor at the NRL club at a press conference called for Wednesday afternoon.

Chief executive of New Zealand Netball since 2007, the game has enjoyed a surge of popularity under her watch.

Castle played a key role in forming the world-class trans-Tasman netball championship and helped to secure a major broadcast deal with SKY to televise the competition in New Zealand.

She comes from a rugby league background, her father, Bruce, captained the New Zealand national side in the 1960s, and is a regular at Warriors and Kiwis games.

Castle will become the first female chief executive of an NRL club since Liz Dawson headed up the now defunct Adelaide Rams in 1997 and early 1998.

Greenberg has been appointed as the NRL’s new head of football.