Revelations give Knights members reason to care
By ROBERT DILLON
THE five Newcastle Knights directors seeking re-election to the club's board are no doubt hoping that the majority of members submitted their votes long before picking up yesterday's edition of The Herald.
The biennial poll closes on Monday, and the new board will be announced two nights later at the club's annual general meeting.
Of the 3500 members, chances are most of those who intend to vote will have already done so, but for those who are waiting until the last minute, The Herald's revelations yesterday about the disintegration of the Knights-Wests Group joint venture should provide food for thought.
In a series of documents seen by The Herald, Wests chief executive Phil Gardner left no doubt about his opinion of the men responsible for running the city's footballing flagship.
In correspondence with Knights hierarchy, Gardner informed them directly that he believed they were guilty of "a lack of teamwork, buck-passing and a 'not my job' mentality, descending into petty back-biting".
He had also noted a "poisonous blame culture" and felt there was "open warfare between coaching staff and management".
Gardner's comments were the last thing Newcastle's incumbent directors needed in the countdown to an election.
After a year of turmoil, on and off the field, there were already questions being asked about the powers-that-be.
There have been issues aplenty in the past 12 months: the coup that removed former chairman Mike Tyler, the sacking and payout of chief executive Ken Conway, the cleanout of a host of long-serving local juniors, the Kirk Reynoldson affair, the collapse of the liaison with Wests and the announcement of a $1.3 million operating loss for 2007.
Just how all this impacts on voting remains to be seen.
Insiders say interest in this election, behind the scenes, has been less than overwhelming.
And Knights members have traditionally been indifferent to their club's financial position on the night of the annual general meeting.
A couple of years ago, for instance, questions from the floor referred to pressing issues such as the price of pies and the size of numbers on the scoreboard at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
At most Knights board elections, less than a third of the members eligible to vote actually do so.
But if Gardner's comments yesterday combined with a quick glance at the bottom line on the Knights' 2007 financial statement jolt the remaining two-thirds of members out of their apathy, then there is still time for a late rush to the ballot box.
