By John Stensholt
Dec. 6 (Financial Review) -- When Max Donnelly of Ferrier
Hodgson walked into NRL club Parramatta after being appointed
as administrator in July, he got a quick reminder of how the
business of sport can differ to the corporate world.
"When I started the coach did ask if I would go into the
dressing rooms," Mr Donnelly said. "I wasn't sure so I said
only if I was invited. But that isn't what I'm here for. He
asked if I would suggest who should be in the team and who he
should recruit. I said no, though I would say who he couldn't
recruit if we couldn't fit them in the salary cap."
The Eels were in a state of perpetual crisis when the
Parramatta Leagues Club board was sacked and replaced with
Donnelly after officials were accused of using inflated
invoices to secretly pay players. The Eels had by then been
fined by the NRL for cheating the salary cap, had competition
points deducted and some officials were deregistered.
Meanwhile, the thriving leagues club had pumped about $30
million into the football team over four years to keep it
afloat, and the board - which included some ex-players - had
been providing advice to the coach about tactics and player
recruitment.
"About 90 per cent of my problems have been related to the
football club," Donnelly told The Australian Financial Review.
"And while I've said I should not be judged on results on the
field, I probably will. There's not much I can do to avoid
that."
Donnelly has previous rugby league experience, first as
the receiver at the Cronulla Leagues Club in the 1980s - "we
fixed that up by putting a disco in there" - and then of the
doomed North Sydney Bears. "The difference with Parramatta is
that this is not an insolvency appointment. We have a leagues
club with money here. The Bears had no money and no [football]
licence."
Unique challenges
But the Parramatta job has its complexities and is one of
the more unique challenges Donnelly has undertaken in a long
career that has included the turnaround of the Magic Millions
horse sales business and high-profile bankruptcies such as
Christopher Skase, Robert Trimbole, Geoff Edelsten and the
estate of Lang Hancock.
Donnelly, who was appointed by the Independent Liquor and
Gaming Authority, has appointed a new chief executive, Bernie
Gurr, and extended coach Brad Arthur's contract. He is putting
a new Parramatta board together and in an effort to get past
the mess of recent years is insisting candidates have not
worked for the club for three years and will not consider any
previous directors. Despite that, he has been inundated with
applications this week.
"I've got 80-90 applications so far and there's a lot of
solid ones in there, so I think we'll get a quality board.
We'll probably have 25-30 interviews and try to get that done
before Christmas. Then we'll do check for the last 10 or so and
hope to have five independents in place by February."
Donnelly has also found himself siding with the other NRL
clubs in its fight to oust Australian Rugby League Commission
chairman John Grant. The ARLC has pulled an offer to fund the
clubs for 130 per cent of player payments from 2018 onwards,
additional money that Donnelly said would have helped
Parramatta.
"The additional money would help. We lost $12 million this
year, will halve that next year and it will probably be a $3
million loss in 2018. This is why the additional money is
important for the club."
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"When I started the coach did ask if I would go into the dressing rooms," Mr Donnelly said. "I wasn't sure so I said only if I was invited. But that isn't what I'm here for. He asked if I would suggest who should be in the team and who he should recruit. I said no, though I would say who he couldn't recruit if we couldn't fit them in the salary cap."
And there you have it, all of Parramatta's past problems articulated in three or four sentences.
Yep. It's a wonder BA didn't pack up and leave when the old board was in. It's a testament to his resolve and commitment to the players that he toughed it out. It sounds like we will be getting some very well credentialed board members which will be a great thing for the future of the club.
I have spoken to witnesses who claim Ricky Stuart nearly pulled the dressing room door off the hinges at Parra Stadium because Sharp was in there trying to deliver his own half time dress down and locked him out
lol, you're a visionary Chris :)
Never saw it coming.
And separating the NRL Board from the Leagues Club Board. Seriously who thinks this stuff up?
Nice work Chris, must be rewarding to see the fruits of your labor come to fruition, i was worried there for a while before the remaining board was booted and Mad Max came in, i thought the same old factions would have put a stop on it, thank god we had Max come in.
The merit based system will work as long as the selection process is a success.
It is what we deserve as the most loyal and passionate supporters in Australia sport.
If Max is going to interview 25-30 people, that means they are quality individuals. He won't be wasting anyone's time.
From there, moving down to 5 will be difficult. once the final group are selected, we will have many capable people who have missed out who can be viewed as alternates in a proper succession plan.
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