Seeds of change planted at code's spiritual home
Glenn Jackson | October 8, 2009
THE group of club bosses charged with the job of negotiating a re-structure of the code was first formed at the game's spiritual home, the SCG, and its members are so parochial in their attempt to ensure the commission is truly independent they will only meet on neutral grounds.
Michael Searle, the architect and the spiritual leader of the pack, flew from New York to London to Sydney just to attend the strategic meeting in May at the cricket ground, attended by all the club chief executives, at which the idea of an independent committee was pitched.
Since then, they have met either before and after scheduled chief executives' conferences or meetings, every six to eight weeks, generally in hotel boardrooms.
''We always wanted to show independence,'' said Brisbane Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen, one of the members of the sub committee. ''We didn't have meetings at the NRL or News Limited - we thought it would be inappropriate if we met at either of those offices. We didn't want to be in a position where people might say, if we met at NRL at Fox Studios we could just duck in and ask David Gallop something or if we met at Philip Street we could ask Geoff Carr. We met off-site. We had to be independent. I guess it was a statement. Our interest is in the game.''
When the group was formed, it comprised seven members; Searle, Cullen, Melbourne's Brian Waldron, Souths' Shane Richardson, Newcastle's Shane Richardson, Parramatta's Denis Fitzgerald and Cronulla's Tony Zappia. Fitzgerald and Zappia have since left their employment with their clubs and as such the sub-committee.
Searle is the ''heavy lifter'' of the group, according to Cullen. It is he who generally negotiated with News Ltd and Australian Rugby League officials. His first meetings occurred not much more than a month after the sub-committee was formed. Searle and then Parramatta chief executive Denis Fitzgerald met ARL heavy Nick Politis and others and, separately, News Ltd powerbrokers.
Both he and Cullen have been pleasantly surprised by the reception received at both the ARL and News Ltd. Initially, Searle said, the harshest reaction came from the club bosses.
At the SCG, where the club bosses spoke about various strategic issues in the game, from stadiums to television rights to the ownership structure, was like the English Literature stand in a sporty US college committee day. ''It wasn't a very popular group,'' Searle said. ''We were a thousand to one.''
But the group pressed on. The club bosses have attempted to base their model not on the AFL model, but the NFL one. They understand both parties want something out of the new arrangement. News Ltd will want a share of the next television deal. ''We might have had a couple of little road blocks, but we haven't had the serious show-stoppers,'' Cullen said. ''Not everything's agreed on, but people are in agreement to move forward.''
A number of parties across various industries, including former Prime Minister John Howard, have been approached about being on the commission, none as chairman. The sub-committee members maintain none are certain starters even if they accepted the opportunity.
Yesterday's timely News Ltd story notwithstanding, the members of the sub-committee even before that remained convinced a deal could be brokered soonish. ''We're certainly of the belief that all parties are very keen to have this happen,'' Cullen said. ''They'll each have their own needs and desires and wants.''
Searle said: ''Originally we planned to activate it before the next TV deal but things have progressed in the last 12 months and even the last six months.
''It may happen sooner. It's a long process but we're certainly keen to get there.''
