Eels Blogs

Ray, you missed it by this much. I refer to the Sydney Morning Herald article: “Price lashes out at former Eels pack mate as tensions over club poll rise”. Close, but no cigar.

It’s not about ParraFirst getting our hands on the NRL club. What it's about is the members getting their hands on the NRL club. 

What ParraFirst has committed to - just as 3P said they would to do back in 2008 - is to review the current Parramatta structure. Pretty much every Parramatta fan I speak to on this issue understands now that we’re operating under a structure that was put in place in the eighties and which thirty years later is in desperate need of revision. Or at the very least, a new generation of members needs to have it explained to them, as to why they don’t get to vote in an election that has anything to do with the NRL club they’re a member of.

The review we hope to conduct could find that the Rugby League business should revert back to the Rugby League club. It could find that it makes sense for the PNRL (Parramatta National Rugby League) to have its own board with a mix of members from the PDRL and the Leagues Club board. It could find that there needs to be a revision to the number of cross-directors so that the Rugby League Club board controls the Leagues club and not the other way around. Or it could be as simple as providing cross-voting rights so that every football member can vote in the Leagues club election as well.

Such a review would be completely transparent, explaining to all members the pros and cons of the respective options before making the board’s recommendation. Then it’s up to the members to make a decision after that review as to what path they want to take.

From day one, there were the three planks to the ParraFirst strategy:
1) The constitution review
2) Boardroom professionalism
3) A Junior League strategic plan

All of those are directly related to the PRDL. The first relates to the broader remit of the PDRL, the second relates to the way the PDRL board conducts itself and the third relates to improving the output currently delivered by the PDRL.

If the Roy & Ray show was serious about the junior league, then why did they choose to add current Leagues Club director and restaurateur Mario Libertini to the ticket? Why not pull someone out of the junior coaching ranks like we did, in Peter Serrao or else someone with junior club administration experience. Maybe this is why at the last AGM not a single board member could answer even simple questions about our junior league performance? Maybe if 3P took this election seriously, they’d have started communicating with members a little more than three days prior to the election.

ParraFirst makes no excuses for daring to be visionary and re-thinking the way that the PDRL and PNRL clubs might be structured. Right now, the structure is broken. We know it, the members know it, I’ve had staff at the club tell me they agree, and I actually believe 3P know it too based on their original campaigning.

Because somebody HAS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO MEMBERS for the way our NRL club is managed. At last year’s PDRL AGM, it was stated very clearly upfront that members could not ask questions about the NRL. At the Leagues Club AGM, the players and coach were wheeled in as a human shield in front of directors before most of the remaining meeting time was spent debating the sale of the Vikings Club. We’re now told at PDRL elections, we’re only supposed to discuss the juniors however at Leagues Club elections it’s drummed into us that the only important matter is the Leagues Club financials.

So where exactly do members get to voice their disapproval as to how their NRL club is managed and how their team performs. Unfortunately, and I know this because I actually engage with supporters almost every single day, the only way many feel they can express their dissatisfaction is by not renewing their memberships. Our new CEO has already revealed that our club has suffered massive membership churn of over 20 per cent year-on-year of late.

So we have to go the other way. Supporters have to feel like their membership is akin to them buying a stake in the club and that as genuine stakeholders they have the power to have their voices heard. The only way you can do that is by giving them the power to oust the board that controls the NRL operation. They have to have the ability to hold those in power accountable.

And that’s what 3P said back in 2008. I quote: “We will be accountable for all our actions”. But to date, 3P have scrambled from every measure of accountability and once again, we have a board wanting to ensure the narrowest set of goal posts possible. “No, members, you’re not allowed to discuss you’re voting rights, we decree this election has to be about juniors”. I’m still gobsmacked that 3P have attempted to re-brand themselves in order to once again avoid accountability for their past performance.

Well, I can tell you is that ParraFirst is happy to fight the war on whatever battleground the incumbent boards sees fit to deem as acceptable campaigning and we’re certainly more than happy to compare our respective junior football credentials. We have better people, better ideas and better support from the junior grassroots. After more than a month of ParraFirst campaigning on issues, 3P managed on it’s very first day of campaigning (three days before an election) to launch its “scathing attack” on our ticket and on Steve Sharp, a man whom I unreservedly consider to be one of this club’s all-time great servants and loyalists.

I believe Saturday could be a defining moment in this club’s modern history. If members stand up and demand control of their club, if they demand board-level accountability and professionalism, then we truly can head into a new era for our great club. If it goes the other way, it will demonstrate that this board under the current constitution is simply immovable and a once-in-a-generation opportunity for reform will be lost.