Eels Blogs

“Proud history. New Beginnings”.

New coach. Yes. New CEO. Yes. But still lurking behind those changes was the same old board, with their ever-growing baggage and problems.

Only now that we have a new board, to match the new coach and new CEO can those “new beginnings” truly commence.

Conversations with everyone from player managers, to corporate sponsors and to supporters can now start to take place, without the elephant in the room - that Parramatta had a reputation for mismanagement and instability - lurking in the background.

It’s why I truly believed  the board’s tenure had become unsustainable and it's why I personally campaigned for change. We had gotten ourselves into a position whereby every move that, we as a club made, could not be viewed outside of the lens of our most recent history. Our past would continue to undermine the future.

Now, we actually do have a chance for new beginnings.

For me, what is most significant about this result, is that it truly was a decision made by the people - the club’s members. The limitations placed on voting mean that Parramatta elections are too often decided by voting blocks of families and friends. It happened in the Fitzgerald era, it happened in the 3P era. However, for ParraFirst to win, it needed the rank and file members to stand up and demand change. That’s exactly what they did.

I spoke to Steve Sharp tonight, and asked him what he wanted communicated about the club’s future plans under his chairmanship. He replied immediately that the goal was to make Parramatta a member’s club again. That the board would actively seek feedback from both sets of members members, as it looks towards the course it sets forward on.

I believe very much that when the board took action to silence criticism towards it from this site, it demonstrated very clearly that it didn't have that same attitude. It didn’t want to know what most members thought, because the reality is most members were not happy and that was shown last night.

Tonight was the culmination of a lot of hard work from a lot of people. Many of you on this site assisted in many ways and when I felt like things were getting tough, your support and kind words helped me through those low times. In particularly, I’d like to give a shout-out to Baregarse, who volunteered his amazing graphic design skills to documents like advertisement ParraFirst ran in the local papers and Perfecta who put in so much work driving that online petition. But there were many of you who fought so hard for this - you are a part of this victory.

Thank you so very much, from both myself and all of the ParraFirst candidates.

I believe this site is very special to the Parramatta Eels community. It has been criticised for being too negative and not moderated enough, but what I’ve always wanted for this site, is for it to be the voice of the Eels supporter. The freedom of speech that this site allows for, means it is a barometer for how Eels fans are feeling and what they want from their club.

There is a new board. We should all hold them to account, that they deliver on the professionalism and member-first policies that they promised. Yes, we should all support our club, but we should not do so blindly. If we are to be successful, we must demand not only success but that the people who represent us conduct themselves in a way that is beyond reproach.

Finally, for all the criticism I have levelled at the 3P board, I’d like to recognise the work they have done. When you get involved in the political side of sport, it is incredibly time-consuming and demanding. 3P have left the club with a solid financial platform and the improvements they have made to the club I believe have been well-received. And I believe in the management and coaching teams we now have in place. The club needed a shake-up and 3P provided it. And I did want to make a special shout out to Joe Saad. Joe has always been incredibly generous to me, personally, and his support for the ParraFirst ticket absolutely was significant in this change taking place.

A number of current board said to me yesterday, that they wouldn’t be crushed if they were't re-elected. That all they really wanted was what best for the club and it was time, that regardless of whoever won, that we all united behind whoever took charge. I hope that they keep to that. Over the past six months, I believe Steve Sharp has grown into a statesman and will make a great chairman, and there are some very intelligent and impressive people on that board who I believe are sincere as their desire to make Parramatta a people’s club. We need to stop the feuding and we need to create an environment whereby we tap into the talents, networks and efforts of all those who want to give back to the club - regardless of whether that is Roy Spagnolo or Denis Fitzgerald. That feuding must stop now and we all must start signing from the same hymn sheet.

A proud history. New beginnings. Go you mighty Eels.