http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...t/news-story/d9974a43b2ff24e47c5020a8c871cf4a
Corey Norman’s season finished as Max Donnelly starts Eels’ sort-out
Corey Norman’s season is over and the days appear numbered for the final remnants of the Parramatta board as the club begins the process of rebuilding under administrator Max Donnelly.
Following a slew of resignations in recent days, culminating in the decision by Tanya Gadiel to step down yesterday, only former Parramatta lord mayor Paul Garrard is yet to sever ties.
Garrard is understood to have a meeting with Donnelly scheduled for today, where it is expected he will be given the option of resigning. If he stands his ground, there is every chance Donnelly will sack him.
Donnelly, who replaced the board at the behest of the state government on Tuesday, held talks with Gadiel and coach Brad Arthur yesterday. He also met with the club’s legal team as he began the process of reviewing their application to seek leave to appeal their sanctions from the NRL.
Donnelly has also moved to give Parramatta Leagues Club chief executive Bevan Paul an overarching position which provides him the power to run the football club, although he made it clear that appointment would be of a temporary nature. Nevertheless, it comes at a crucial time for the club as they hold contract talks with Norman and attempt to re-sign Jarryd Hayne.
Norman’s contractual future remains under a cloud — he has been approached by St George Illawarra — but his playing future was clarified yesterday when the NRL announced he would be retrospectively suspended for eight games from round 19, meaning he will miss the rest of the season.
Norman was fined $20,000 after a conviction for drug possession and a police warning for consorting with criminals. The NRL also decided a penalty was warranted after he filmed an elderly man using drugs and shared the video with his teammates.
NRL head of integrity Nick Weeks said Norman had been interviewed this week and the sanctions had been made with the support of his club.
“The message is clear … players cannot put themselves in a position where they may damage their own reputations and that of the game,” Weeks said.
“We have been consistent this year in imposing strong penalties where players bring the game into disrepute through actions off the field. Whether it is drug possession, criminal associations or social media use, players understand the consequences that can flow from illegal or other unacceptable conduct.
“While it is a regrettable trend in society for people to look to sell footage of sports stars in their private lives there is an easy solution for players — do not engage in activity which will damage their reputation or that of the game.”
Donnelly has been charged with rebuilding the club and its culture, although he plans to initially bring in Paul to operate across both entities with a view to saving costs — the leagues club has funded the football club to the tune of nearly $10 million in recent seasons.
“In the interim I intend to appoint Bevan Paul because I just need someone in there to cut some costs and look at a few things that seem odd, like apparently some people who aren’t working that are getting paid, well that won’t be continuing,” Donnelly told radio station 2GB.
Donnelly said he also planned to sit down with player managers to ensure the football club remains salary cap compliant. The fact they were $3m over for the past four years is what landed them in hot water with the NRL.
“I’m not going to let the club operate outside the salary cap. As I understand it we are operating within it and I’m going to make sure we stay there,” he said.
He reiterated his comments from Wednesday that the constitution “must be changed” to separate the boards of the leagues club and football club.
“The big picture is to get two boards in place, two separate CEOs, let the football club run itself and the leagues club run itself with quality board members who have business expertise,” Donnelly said. “They can be Parramatta people ... but we want a properly constituted board where everyone is independent.”
