Parramatta Eels 'gang of five' ready to drop Supreme Court action against NRL

Sports Writer

Parramatta chairman Steve Sharp. Photo: Shu Yeung

Parramatta's so-called gang of five are ready to drop their NSW Supreme Court action against the NRL as the club prepares to file its response to its salary cap breach notice by Friday's deadline.

Suspended chairman Steve Sharp, directors Tom Issa and Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football operations manager Daniel Anderson are due back in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday for a hearing against the NRL after arguing they should not have been named in League Central's preliminary findings against Parramatta.

Those proceedings are expected to be aborted. However, the two parties are continuing to argue over costs.

If Parramatta have to pay the NRL's costs to strike an agreement it will be another addition to a mounting salary cap-related legal bill that is now estimated to have ballooned to more than $250,000, with four of the five suspended officials having their own lawyers separate to those engaged by the club.

All the while the Eels, having had five-eighth Corey Norman charged with drug possession last week to add to their headaches, remain without an interim chief executive after the appointment of Parramatta Leagues Club boss Bevan Paul on a short-term deal as group CEO failed to be confirmed at a board meeting.

Paul wants to be granted autonomy to implement change on the football side of the business but his mooted takeover continues to hit obstacles. The latest occurred when he and Sharp, who remains Leagues Club chairman, were unable to attend last Thursday's PLC board meeting.

"Obviously the board wants to have a talk to [Paul] and there was any number of things we wanted to talk to him about but he wasn't there so we had a meeting without him," director Paul Garrard said.

"[Paul's appointment] is still on the table to some degree but it's wide open. Without having eyeball-to-eyeball contact with him and discussion with him we're otherwise relying on intermediaries to carry on discussion.

"At the moment we've got Ian Schubert doing most of that work and [chief operating officer] Craig [Beed] has stepped up in his role and his carrying out a lot of responsibilities as well."

If I am reading this article correctly. Seems the meeting was scheduled as a general PLC directors meeting rather than one between the just the current board members that remain along with Bevan Paul.

As the football club board members are also by default part of the PLC directors, which I think includes other members from the PLC as well, I am seriously thinking that the 4 or at least the 3 board members who are fighting for their positions would likely want to open up a big bun fight across the PLC side of things with the administration of the PLC being brought into the blue.

The aspect of this news report, especially with the 5 wanting to drop the court challenge tells me they likely know they are on shaky ground heading down that path, & perhaps trying to somehow finally reach out with a very damage olive twig to the NRL prior to their submission before the end of this week.

It wont save their jobs though, & they are I believe affectively gone but hopefully their submission will be good enough to deflect some levels of the penalties that are hovering over the head of the club.

Either way, the other 3 & likely 4 have to go & an EGM is called to go forward ASAP if not sooner.

Any news of the so called meeting that was supposed to have taken place this Thursday just gone that was to deal with the appointment of Bevan Paul a…

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Replies

The Captain May 30, 2016 at 9:35am

Ah yes, another Monday, another week of Eels drama fed through the papers. Can't wait...
This reply was deleted.
- colin hussey May 30, 2016 at 10:09am
  
  If I am reading this article correctly. Seems the meeting was scheduled as a general PLC directors meeting rather than one between the just the current board members that remain along with Bevan Paul.
  
  As the football club board members are also by default part of the PLC directors, which I think includes other members from the PLC as well, I am seriously thinking that the 4 or at least the 3 board members who are fighting for their positions would likely want to open up a big bun fight across the PLC side of things with the administration of the PLC being brought into the blue.
  
  The aspect of this news report, especially with the 5 wanting to drop the court challenge tells me they likely know they are on shaky ground heading down that path, & perhaps trying to somehow finally reach out with a very damage olive twig to the NRL prior to their submission before the end of this week.
  
  It wont save their jobs though, & they are I believe affectively gone but hopefully their submission will be good enough to deflect some levels of the penalties that are hovering over the head of the club.
  
  Either way, the other 3 & likely 4 have to go & an EGM is called to go forward ASAP if not sooner.
Wizardssleeves official receipts May 30, 2016 at 9:36am

I thought it was reported here by one of the (TCT maybe ?) insiders with the info that Bevan had taken the job ? Sounds like nobodies even spoken with him .
- The Captain > Wizardssleeves official receipts May 30, 2016 at 9:49am
  
  It makes you really wonder...
  
  >Without having eyeball-to-eyeball contact with him and discussion with him we're otherwise relying on intermediaries to carry on discussion.
  
  So why not go and speak to the guy? These are fairly extraordinary circumstances, so send him a meeting invite. You'd think Paul's would be a brain they'd be relying on heavily at the moment, even if it was just in a sounding board capacity.
  
  It really does feel like it's still agenda driven management more than anything else.
- colin hussey > Wizardssleeves official receipts May 30, 2016 at 9:57am
  
  Wiz, I posted a thread last week on it knowing the meeting was scheduled for last Thursday, reply came back which was a bit different to this news story, but essentially its pretty much the same result anyway.
  
  http://www.1eyedeel.com/forum/topics/front-office?page=1&commen...
  
  Front Office
  
  Any news of the so called meeting that was supposed to have taken place this Thursday just gone that was to deal with the appointment of Bevan Paul a…
Yobz May 30, 2016 at 9:45am

I thought things had been rather quiet of late.
colin hussey May 30, 2016 at 10:24am

Cap. I think that the Bevan would speak to the 4 board members but not being ambushed by a PLC full directors, which could also include the Administration team as well, which 3 out of the 4 would do their best to divide & conquer them as well as they continue their factional skills.

Bevan if he takes on the role would likely have to have some understanding from the others at the PLC but he could handle things in a temporary position. Last thing we need is to have the 3 try & destroy the PLC as well as what is going on the football side of things.

Just my thoughts.
Wizardssleeves official receipts May 30, 2016 at 11:32am

No I remember reading a thread in here about confirmation that Bevan had accepted the job . It was by a claim that the poster had received inside mail the deal had been done . Was maybe a 60s or someone from TCT , or as it seems it's all hot air and false maybe it was Chief :) .

Maybe I dreamt it lol , just thought I remembered a thread about this being a done deal .
- Wizardssleeves official receipts > Wizardssleeves official receipts May 30, 2016 at 11:41am
  
  Found it .
  
  http://www.1eyedeel.com/forum/topics/bevan-paul-accepts-intrum-eels...
  
  Snake you've gotta stop getting your mail from Chief .
  - colin hussey > Wizardssleeves official receipts May 30, 2016 at 12:26pm
    
    Wiz, remember your thread posted. However it seems that !: Yes he was convinced to accept the position on a 6 week deal, Until, the other 3 of the board put the barriers up again, at least how I read it based on the report above.
    
    My thoughts still are that they all need to get together, but not with the other PLC admin people as, I see no reason for them to be used as pawns in what is going on. Its one thing to have questions another to continue stuffing the club.
    
    If the 3 who are resisting are supposed to be part of the Sharp team, & Sharp organized the change of heart along with Gerrard, the 3 have betrayed Sharp & have their own agenda's. All it does is smack of totally living in a world of denial that their time is limited, they seem to have done absolutely nothing since the 5 have been derestered by the NRL to help the club, supporters & players in any shape or form.
    
    Sooner the final countdown starts & then explodes the better for mine.

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