NRL: Parramatta Eels director Peter Serrao first of 'gang of five' to break silence
Date
June 13, 2016 - 8:00PM
Chris Barrett and Adrian Proszenko
Parramatta director Peter Serrao has become the first of the Eels' so-called 'gang of five' to break their silence, saying he is hopeful of clearing his name and claiming he was left in the dark about the club's rorting of NRL salary cap rules with third-party agreements.
Like the other four officials to receive show-cause notices on May 3 – chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chair Tom Issa, CEO John Boulous and football operations manager Daniel Anderson – Serrao is suspended from his post as a Parramatta football club board member until the NRL makes a final determination on the Eels' penalty, which is expected by the end of next week.
Having filed his response to the NRL by the original deadline – the other four accepted an extension that gave them until last Wednesday to make their submissions – Serrao is determined to clear his name.
"When I read the breach notice, there were a number of things I found quite disturbing," he said. "I didn't actually sit on the salary cap committee and I wasn't actually involved in any discussions with player agents or about TPAs.
"It appears not all of the information was provided to me, which would have assisted me and the board in making better decisions.
"As a director and as a board, I agree we could have done things much better."
While he has been lumped in with the others as a culprit for the Eels' cap breaches dating back to 2013, those with knowledge of the NRL's investigation have suggested from the outset that he was anything but a ringleader or architect.
The NRL's position on Serrao effectively amounted to claims that he had, by his presence at board meetings, knowledge of the moves to set up a TPA scheme that could make the club more competitive in the remuneration of players and that when he had suspicions about salary cap irregularities he had failed to report them to the NRL.
Serrao has argued that he did raise concerns with other officials at Parramatta but they weren't followed up.
"I've put my submission in and I'm sure I'll get a fair hearing from the NRL. I've got a different view from the NRL in terms of my breach notice," Serrao said.
"All the information I got was that we were under the salary cap from the salary cap committee. I believe not all of the information was provided to me. I have put my submission in and want to clear my name from my involvement in breaking NRL rules."
Meanwhile, with as many as four separate groups pushing for an emergency general meeting to disband the Parramatta Leagues Club board, Serrao is supporting a proposal fronted by Chris Losco, a season ticket-holder for more than 20 years, and is open to stepping down in the interests of reform.
In contrast to the plan for leadership change being led by local businessman Andrew Eagleston – which has the backing of former Macquarie Bank executive Bill Moss – Losco's group does not have an alternate board already hand-picked to step in, preferring a motion to have a nominations committee installed that would, with the assistance of an external recruitment firm, select from candidates based on a criteria of skills and experience.
Eagleston previously ran for election on a ticket aligned to Roy Spagnolo but has distanced his reform plan from the former chairman.
"As a current member of the PLC board, I see this as a great opportunity for reform. If the members want a fresh start and for me to move on, I will respect their wishes," Serrao said. "I support this process for an EGM. All I want to see is the factional hate at the club to end. The club can't improve without reform and people moving on, that's from both those in the club and those no longer involved with the club.
"I'm of the belief the members want this independent process. This nominations committee was actually part of the governance review [conducted after Parramatta were fined $465,000 last year for salary cap breaches] with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the NRL."
Board member Geoff Gerard is, along with Serrao, supportive of the Losco plan and under the proposal would be the only PLC director to be retained. However, after an entirely new board was selected by the committee Gerard would then stand aside as well.
"This nominations committee should be able to select the best candidates based on their skills, qualifications and experience," Serrao said. "I believe the members want a fresh start. I've been listening to the members and that's what they want, some change.
"Everyone who runs for the board has really good intentions but the election cycle and the tickets sometimes creates an unhealthy environment for the club. Hopefully this process is the circuit breaker the club needs for a fresh start."
