Manly resolves ownership to concentrate on hanging on to star players
News Limited
October 24, 2014 12:00AM
MANLY chairman Scott Penn has revealed that his fear of losing star playmakers Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans was a driving force behind moves to resolve the long-running ownership struggles at the club.
The Sea Eagles yesterday announced that the Penn family had reached an agreement to buy Quantum’s 36.75 per cent stake in the club, bringing to an end years of boardroom bickering and *allowing Manly to plan for the *future unencumbered by internal friction.
The club consolidated its ownership structure on the day James Packer announced his purchase of Peter Holmes a Court’s stake in South Sydney.
The Manly decision, which means the Penn family owns nearly 90 per cent of the club, is set to have ramifications beyond the boardroom, with the future of general manager Dave Perry now in doubt.
Perry has one year remaining on his contract and it would be a surprise if he earned an extension beyond that.
His likely demise is set to be mirrored by Anthony Watmough’s departure, despite suggestions the ownership change may alter the landscape as far as the NSW and Australian backrower is concerned.
Watmough has agreed to terms on a switch to Parramatta next season, and it is understood Manly have lined up Willie Mason and Feleti Mateo to fill the void.
Penn, however, indicated that any existing agreements would remain in place, suggesting Watmough was destined to leave, but he made it clear that keeping Foran and Cherry-Evans would be the priority.
“We have a lot of player negotiations coming up over the next 12 months,” he said.
“We have a lot of players off contract. The whole organisation needs a clear vision and a clear *future. That is important for players for the future.
“If players are re-signing with us, they want to know where are we going, what am I signing up for? I think to date they haven’t necessarily been given that clear pathway and we need to deliver that.”
Asked specifically about Foran and Cherry-Evans, both of whom are off contract at the end of next year and in the sights of rival clubs, Penn said: “It is no secret that the halves are our absolute priority.
“We need to make sure they are comfortable that the Sea *Eagles are going to stay at the top of the pile for the foreseeable future. The only way to do that is we make sure we have our act together off the field as well. The sooner the better. All shareholding parties acknowledge that.
“We haven’t always agreed but we have always had the best *interests of the club at heart and that is what this is about. It’s about saying enough is enough, let’s get on with it.
“We absolutely want to be a world-class organisation. What do we have to do to do that? Having a clear pathway and one unified ownership structure is the only way to do that.
“That is what we now have.”
In terms of Watmough, Penn indicated nothing would change.
“What is already in the pathway is occurring,” he said. “Any player negotiation is with Geoff (Toovey) and the retention committee. We have never circumvented that process and don’t intend to. The pathway that they are on will remain.”
While things won’t change on that front, serious question marks remain over Perry. Asked directly about the general manager’s *future, Penn said things would remain as they were for the time being.
“We’re working in the background to create the strong strategic plan for the future, which will ensure we’re a world-class organisation and we will be making announcements,” he said. “We already have a plan in place but now that we have control we will have a clear mandate to do some of the things we have wanted to do for a long time.
“That then allows us to potentially invest in the future, putting our money on the line knowing we will be control of decisions.
“We think that is a positive thing and we think we’re now prepared to invest to get to where we want to.”
The latest developments are also expected to result in the club fast-tracking moves to upgrade Brookvale Oval.
An announcement is expected next month.
