More meetings as commission deadline looks increasingly unachievable
Glenn Jackson
October 19, 2010
TWO meetings this week, one in the office of a Sydney accountant and the other at the Phillip Street headquarters of the NSW Rugby League, are likely to have a ''landmark'' impact on whether an independent commission is in place by November 1.
With 12 days remaining until November 1 - the date planned for the handover of the game to an independent commission - a draft of the constitution document, drawn up by independent law firm Kemp Strang, is in the hands of the ARL, the NSWRL, Queensland Rugby League, the game's co-owners News Limited and the commission's architect, Michael Searle, representing the 16 NRL clubs.
Searle, who is having lawyers review the document after receiving it yesterday, will tomorrow meet his restructure committee, which will notify the ARL of its position at the scheduled board meeting on Thursday at the NSW Leagues Club.
The 16 club chairmen will tomorrow meet at the office of a Sydney accountant to discuss the commission, the progress of which seems to have stalled in recent weeks. The chairmen have invited ARL chairman Colin Love to brief them on commission developments.
One chairman yesterday described the process as a ''farce'', and said it was ''unrealistic'' to suggest the commission would be in place by November 1. He said that with key decisions and negotiations surrounding television rights deals originally planned to be done under the new ownership structure, ''we're just wallowing''.
''The ARL … have an opportunity to deliver a lasting solution to the benefit of everyone in the game,'' the chairman said. ''They have an opportunity to be remembered very fondly in the history of the game. Alternatively, they have the opportunity to be remembered not so fondly.''
But Searle maintains hope. The wording of the draft constitution is likely to decide whether or not it is implemented quickly. If there is significant disagreement over any aspect of the document, the push towards independent ownership of the game will stall again.
The ARL meeting, therefore, could be a momentous meeting at which the push towards a commission gathers unstoppable momentum, or it could signal another setback.
The clubs ''have had enough'', according to one insider.
The QRL is also in possession of the draft, and its board will meet today. Chairman John McDonald said: ''There's been good progress. We're still in the process of going through it [the draft]. We'll have further discussions [today].''
The QRL side of the ARL is likely to support the constitution only if it is clear that anyone who has held an official position with the ARL, NSWRL, QRL, Country Rugby League, News Ltd or any club in the past three years is ineligible to be a commission member.
That would rule out Love, the ARL chairman who is from the NSWRL side. Love has been tipped to be on the first commission, as a nod to a perceived need for someone with established league management experience to be included to help kick things off.
But it is understood the draft document does not deal specifically with the sanctity of the commissioners. The commissioners will be decided well after November 1 - presuming the commission itself is even in place by then.
ARL chief executive Geoff Carr said: ''At the moment, it's progressing quite well.''
