https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...s/news-story/545236d606e91acd16b4ac766ce5bc85
Beattie set to appoint independent commissioners
ARL Commission chair Peter Beattie is expected to appoint Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys and former Nine Network executive Amanda Laing as independent commissioners as early as next week after his hopes of a compromise deal on constitutional reform were rejected by the NSW and Queensland rugby leagues.
The QRL and NSWRL held separate phone hook-ups yesterday morning to discuss a compromise proposal which would have resulted in their respective chairs, George Peponis and Bruce Hatcher, being forced to choose between their roles with the state bodies and a place on the commission.
Both states stood their ground, insisting the clubs honour the original plan — agreed in June and confirmed in December — which would have allowed both men an 18-month grace period to hold dual roles.
The states also insisted the responsibility for the impasse lay with the three clubs who voted against reform last week — Canterbury, Gold Coast and Melbourne.
“It took 15 months of long and detailed discussion to get to the December position,” Hatcher said.
“Then between agreeing unanimously in December and now there is a change of focus. The only thing that will change is that they expect the chairmen of the two state leagues to make a choice between their own state leagues and the (commission).
“We as a board have agreed that the position that was reached by 15 months of negotiation in December should stand. We’re not holding anything up. We’re just saying you all agreed then.
“Nothing has changed from our point of view and I don’t know why three clubs have suddenly changed their mind.”
Peponis added: “Our board met and we decided we would stick by the agreement that all the clubs and all the states had agreed upon in December.”
Late last night the NSWRL released a statement calling on the three clubs to act in the best interests of the game.
“The board is proud of the fact that throughout its history, NSW Rugby League has always advanced the best interests of the game,” the statement said.
“The NRL competition, which the three clubs participate in, was born out of the NSW Rugby League competition. The board of NSW Rugby League now calls on the three NRL clubs to discard sectional interests and also act in the best interests of the game by adhering to the agreement which all of them freely reached in December 2017.”
Beattie, the ARL Commission chair, is now left with little choice but to appoint two independent commissioners. One of those is likely to be V’landys, who won unanimous support as one of the two club representatives who were set to be appointed to the commission as part of the constitutional reform.
While V’landys is likely to seek approval from the three clubs who nominated him originally — St George Illawarra, Penrith and Cronulla — it seems hard to believe they would stand in his way.
By joining as an independent, V’landys is arguably in a stronger position given the role of chair must always come from the independents.
The other club-nominated appointment was prominent Sydney lawyer Glen Selikowitz. However, should reform fall over as expected, Beattie is instead expected to appoint a woman to the commission, meaning Selikowitz will miss out.
Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page has been linked with the position but the more likely appointment would be Laing, who was approached by Beattie and NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg yesterday and is believed to be mulling over whether to accept the offer.
Laing has previously held roles as the Nine Network’s managing director, general counsel and commercial director. She was once considered the successor to former Nine boss David Gyngell and played a significant role in negotiations over a host of sporting deals, including the network’s $925 million commitment to broadcast the NRL for the next five years.
More recently, she has been working as a consultant with Telstra to help the telecommunications giant finalise the merger of Foxtel and Fox Sports.
Beattie remains determined to make it work. “Constitutional reform was never going to be easy,” Beattie wrote on social media. “I am still committed to it. If it doesn’t get up now we will revisit it in a year’s time.”
Hatcher said he respected the work Beattie had done in an attempt to broker a deal.
“We believe from an integrity and principle point of view that you can’t keep rolling over just because someone wakes up one day with a different view,” he said. “There are only three clubs (against it).”
