Eels Blogs

From the CEO’s Office - Greetings Eels Members!

Posted by El patrón MDV on October 16, 2017 at 9:17pm
From the CEO’s Office
 
Greetings Eels Members! 
 
On the 24th October 2017 I will celebrate 12 months in the CEO role here at Parramatta National Rugby League Club Pty Limited.
 
It has been an eventful and exciting 2017 NRL season and, now that the season has concluded, I would like to summarise some of my thoughts about our great Club.
 
Season 2017 was always going to be a transition year for the Parramatta Eels. From “day one”, there was a clear message to me from fans and stakeholders: Parra fans wanted stability – “1 Parramatta, a united Parramatta”. We needed to rebuild trust with our stakeholders.
 
Most of you loyal Members are aware of our Values and Purpose, but let me reiterate these important foundations of our Club.
 
Values:
  • Integrity
  • Respect
  • Excellence
All our Club’s decisions and behaviours will be consistent with our core Values.
 
Purpose:
The Parramatta Eels Rugby League Club will:
  • Be a professional, ethical, first-class sports organization, with a focus on recruiting and retaining quality people.
  • Build and manage competitive Rugby League football programs and provide effective player pathways from our Junior Representative teams through to the NRL level, with the principal objective being sustained success in the NRL Premiership.
  • Promote the game of Rugby League in the Parramatta / Western Sydney region.
  • Be a Club focused on our Members and Fans.
  • Be a community-centric Club, engaging in a meaningful manner with our Western Sydney community, with the 3 pillars of our Community Program being:
    • Junior League;
    • Schools; and
    • Charity Partners
  • Be a financially sustainable sports organisation through prudent, ethical financial management and productive commercial partnerships.
Our Values and Purpose provide clear direction for our Parramatta Eels Club and we are committed to “getting it right” internally so that we can build a strong, long-term foundation for our Club.

Summary of the 2017 Season:
 
  1. Governance
Constitutional reform was finalised in February 2017, with the principal objective of delivering a high quality Board of Directors, comprising:
  • Two (2) Directors from the Parramatta Leagues Club (the 100% owner of the Parramatta Eels)
Currently Max Donnelly and Jim Sarantinos (both from Ferrier Hodgson) are the nominees from the Parramatta Leagues Club; and
  • Five (5) independent Directors: a detailed skills matrix determined the suitability of the independent Directors to provide meaningful contributions to our Club.
New independent Directors appointed on 24 February 2017 are:
  • Vicki Leaver                Executive Director, Legal Aid
  • Sean McElduff            Chief Operating Officer, Westpac Financial Markets
  • Michael McRitchie      Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Satellite Office
  • Col Robertshaw          Former Head Property Finance, Commonwealth Bank
  • Anthony Shiner           Executive Director Digital, Telstra
  1. Football Program
Both our Senior and Junior Representative Football Programs have performed creditably in season 2017. We are committed to improving again in 2018!
 
Senior Football Program:
  • NRL 1st Grade:   Head Coach:  Brad Arthur
4th after regular season; participated in NRL Finals Series for 1st time since 2009
  • Wentworthville Intrust Super Cup:  Coach:  Nathan Cayless
Team just missed qualification for the play-offs, finishing their season in 9th place
  • NYC Under 20 Team:  Coach by Luke Burt
2nd – Grand Finalists
 
Junior Representative Program:
  • S G Ball (Under 18):  Coach: Scott Jones
Champions:
  • Won the NSWRL S G Ball Under 18 competition
  • Won the Australian Under 18 Championship
  • Harold Matthews (Under 16):  Coach: Craig Brennan
Had an excellent season, finishing 1 game out of the Grand Final
 
Recruitment & Retention:
While we are happy with our current Player Roster, we are always looking for ways to improve our team.
 
Renewed Contracts:
Early in season 2017, we announced contract renewals for Clint Gutherson andTim Mannah through the 2019 season. Later in the year, we renewed Tepai Moeroa, Peni Terepo, Cameron King, Will Smith, David Gower and George Jennings.

New Signings:
As you are aware, we signed Mitchell Moses for seasons 2018 and 2019 and then managed to negotiate Mitch’s release from the Wests Tigers earlier in season 2017. Mitch is a Parramatta Junior, having played with the All Saints Toongabbie Club and we are extremely pleased that Mitch has come home to Parramatta.
 
We have signed Kane Evans (Front Row) from the Roosters for seasons 2018, 2019 and 2020.
 
Semi Radradra:
Semi Radradra has now moved on to play rugby union for the Toulon Rugby Club for the 2017/2018 European rugby season, with an option for a second year being the 2018/2019 season. This option for the second season is in favour of Semi Radradra. The European rugby season operates from approximately August through May. The offer from Toulon was substantially higher than our Club’s offer. Semi has made an immense contribution to the Eels and we wish him well in his rugby union venture with Toulon.
 
Players retiring:
Due to problems with an injury suffered in the 2017 pre-season, Isaac De Goiswas unable to participate in our 2017 campaign and has now retired.
 
Jeff Robson has also decided to “hang up the boots”.
 
Both Isaac and Jeff have been terrific servants of the Parramatta Eels and we thank Isaac and Jeff for their outstanding contributions to both the Parramatta Eels and the game of Rugby League.
 
Salary Cap:
Our Salary Cap is in good shape, thanks to Nikky Van Der Meer (Chief Financial Officer), Linda Mittiga (Football Accountant) and Peter Sharp (Recruitment Manager).
 
I am pleased to report that our Club is compliant with the Salary Cap for NRL season 2017 and we have some money still available to spend under the 2018 Salary Cap – watch this space!
 
Wentworthville:
We are pleased to announce the renewal for a further two (2) years (2018 & 2019) of our agreement with the Wentworthville Magpies. The Eels and Wenty will continue field a joint venture in the NSWRL Intrust Super Cup. Wenty continue to be a great partner of our Club and form part of our pathway to the NRL for our elite young players.
 
National Youth Championship (NYC): Under 20:
Season 2017 was the final year of the national Under 20 competition administered by the NRL. From 2018, both the NSWRL and the QRL will operate their own Under 20 competitions. Irrespective of this structural change to the elite pathways, our Club is committed to identifying, recruiting and developing the very best young players.
 
  1. Commercial Partners
The reality is that we did not secure a Major Sponsor for the 2017 NRL season – as CEO, I take complete responsibility for this situation.
 
Contrary to rumours, we have not over-valued the Major Sponsorship nor have we had definitive offers that we have refused. We have taken a very realistic approach to the value of the Major Sponsorship. It is an extremely tough commercial market.
 
We recognise that our “Parramatta Eels” brand has been damaged in recent years. Nevertheless, the Parramatta Eels are still the clear “number 1” professional sports organisation in western Sydney by any metric and, with the Parramatta city being the economic hub of the exciting infrastructural development in western Sydney, we know that the Parramatta Eels are the ideal commercial partner for companies wishing to promote their businesses.
 
Our Commercial Partnerships team have been working diligently:
  • New Apparel Sponsor for next season, with ISC becoming our Merchandise Partner. We will release the new Playing Strip designs shortly and a complete line of off-field – I hope you fans like them as much as we do.
  • New Sponsors in 2017 (who were not Partners with us in 2016):
    • ALAND
    • Aristocrat Technologies
    • Beaini Projects
    • Beiersdorf Australia
    • Fair & Square Property Maintenance
    • Frangos
    • Hennessy Coffee
    • Malkoun & Associates
    • Recycling Services Australia
    • Scientific Gaming
    • Screencorp
    • Sound Agents
    • SPAR Nth Parramatta
    • The Tax Factor
    • Watson Investment Group
  • New Sponsors for 2018 (who were not Partners with us in 2017):
    • ISC
    • Stoneworx
    • Tella Balls
    • Western Sydney Flooring
  1. Membership
I am pleased to report that our Membership numbers set new records in 2017, with over 24,500 Parra Eels Members!
 
In season 2017 we finished 3rd (behind the Broncos & Rabbitohs). Our fans are demonstrating their true passion for the mighty Eels! Membership with Game Tickets is the best way for you to support our great Club, while simultaneously securing your place at the front of the queue for seating at our new home at the brilliant Western Sydney Stadium in mid-2019.
 
  1. Game Day at ANZ Stadium
I wish to thank our fans for supporting our move to ANZ Stadium. We understand it was not always easy but I know our Players really appreciated your support. We ended the season with the best home crowds for matches played in Sydney – thank you!
 
  1. Junior League
The Parramatta Junior Rugby League has 22 clubs working diligently to provide fun playing opportunities for nearly 6,000 young kids. We value the outstanding contributions of the wonderful volunteers of all our Junior League clubs.
 
Our Junior League is an integral part of our Club and we are always looking for ways to assist and engage with our Junior League clubs, players and volunteers.
 
  1. Community
The “real Parramatta Eels” truly shows itself in our Club’s work in the community – I thank all our Players and Staff for their commitment to our Community Partners.
 
A true highlight in 2017 was the “Stay Kind” match against the Wests Tigers on Sunday 23 July at ANZ Stadium, where over 30,000 people witnessed the match dedicated to the “Stay Kind” message, honouring Stuart Kelly (a Parramatta Eels Fan) and his brother Thomas Kelly (a Tigers fan) – a special day and discussions are on-going about making this game an annual marquee event.
 
  1. 70th Anniversary: 1947 to 2017
The 2017 season represented the 70th Anniversary of our Club. Our major celebration was the Hall of Fame match at ANZ Stadium for our game against the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday 17 April. It was great to see so many of the Eels greats on hand for this wonderful occasion.
 
  1. Life Members
At the Ken Thornett Medal Awards Night on Monday 28 August it was a privilege to induct as new Life Members Jan Bryen and Denis “Big D” Anderson.
 
Jan is the 1st female Life Member of the Parramatta Eels Rugby League Club and has given outstanding service to our Parramatta Junior League for around 40 years.
 
“Big D” has worked tirelessly for over 30 years for our Club, often arriving early in the morning to set up for our Junior Representative kids and then finishing his day clearing out the NRL dressing room.
 
What a privilege to recognise these two (2) great people. Behind the scenes, people such as Jan and Denis are the “heartbeat” of the Parramatta Eels
 
  1. Western Sydney Stadium
The demolition of our Parramatta Stadium commenced in quarter 1 of 2017 but, from the long-term perspective, it is wonderful to know that our Parramatta Eels fans will be coming home in mid-2019 to the absolute best rectangular sports stadium in Australia.
 
On Sunday 24 September I was honoured join the NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, to “turn the first sod” on the site of the future home of the mighty Eels, Western Sydney Stadium.
 
Combined with the $130 million developments at Parramatta Leagues Club, we will have a fantastic entertainment precinct. The game day experience at our new home will be awesome!
 
Lastly, I a big “THANK YOU” to our terrific staff we have here at the Parramatta Eels; they genuinely care for our Club and its great fans.
 
With all that goes on inside the our Parramatta Eels Club, we never lose sight of the fact that we are a Football Club – our focus is on supporting our Football Programs.
 
I am proud to be the Chief Executive Officer of our Club. The future for our Parramatta Eels Club is extremely bright. There is a real sense of commitment from the entire organisation – Players, Coaching & Support Staff, Front Office Staff and Directors – to work diligently to produce a Club of which our wonderful Members can be proud.
 
Enjoy the off-season!
“Parra Proud”
 
 

Bernie Gurr
Chief Executive Officer
Parramatta Eels Rugby League Club
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Replies

  • Snakey - Sack Dylan Brown October 16, 2017 at 9:33pm

    That was a lot of talking about not a lot, must be some type of brief we already know, well done Bern.

    Would have been good to have a local charity on the front of our jersey all year if we care so much about charity..

    Im waiting for the release of our new strip that Berns so proud of that unfortunately leaked, will be a good laugh.

  • Sir Col "THE NODDY MUSHROOM" October 16, 2017 at 9:39pm

    Dressed well with no flowers.

    I like people who do not waffle with PC.

    Quietly confident in our future.

  • El patrón MDV October 16, 2017 at 9:41pm

    How about, "Snakes Anal Bleaching Salon" - you grow them, we tint them

    • Snakey - Sack Dylan Brown > El patrón MDV October 16, 2017 at 9:48pm

      Ive been hoping for some information from the board regarding what they think they have to offer, their visions, what theyve been focusing on etc, and all i got was a list of their names which we already have.

      Regardless its good to see weekend at Bernies communicating.

  • Sir Penny Wong October 16, 2017 at 9:45pm
    I really enjoyed reading some insight in the direction the club is heading towards, we have never had anything like this from previous CEO s.
    A Major sponsor would be terrific, however, by the sounds of Bernies comments he needs the right sponsor that fits in with the club moving forward. I am glad he hasn't rushed into a major sponsorship.

    Looking forward to the new signing/s , welcome home Jarryd Hayne!.
    • The Ape > Sir Penny Wong October 17, 2017 at 6:45pm
      Glad he hasn't rushed into a major sponsorship? Read it again, there were no offers to rush into.
  • KENDOZA October 16, 2017 at 11:03pm
    Bumped into Bernie gurr at Costco auburn a while back.Bernie loves those rib eyed steaks as do I.
  • Wizardssleeves official receipts October 16, 2017 at 11:48pm
    Wow , seems like the admin team have just gotten back from their team building exercises locked away in Kiama or the like . Wonder who got the job of scribe on the big notepad whilst they all yelled out random ideas for their mission statement.

    Dead set that was a load of transperant and useless dribble .


    "The reality is that we did not secure a Major Sponsor for the 2017 NRL season – as CEO, I take complete responsibility for this situation.

    Contrary to rumours, we have not over-valued the Major Sponsorship nor have we had definitive offers that we have refused. We have taken a very realistic approach to the value of the Major Sponsorship. It is an extremely tough commercial market "

    Well there we have it Fanboys , he was just smack bang outta his depth . We stormed into the finals and yet nothing from the big swinging sick well connected businessman . Nothing about the " right fit " just plain nada . Shit outta options .
    • 0knhyhovshrm6 > Wizardssleeves official receipts October 17, 2017 at 10:08am

      Your a negative p r I c k Wiz, which company are you CEO of again, maybe you can get on the board?

    • Yokembush > Wizardssleeves official receipts October 17, 2017 at 7:10pm

      dick head

This reply was deleted.

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