Official Cronulla Sharks Board + Management

SF said:
It’s great to hear someone who appreciates the fact we are member owned and do have a vote! Not many do :)

Unfortunately, the quick answer is that I think you'd struggle to vote from the US.

The system is very complex, due to the history. There are two types of boards/elections (leagues club and football club), and three types of membership. Below is my understanding, but I can't guarantee everything is correct.

Membership types:
  • 1) The annual football ticketed/non-ticketed memberships (season passes) which go on sale soon in October.
    • These don't give you any voting rights by themselves.
  • 2) Leagues Club membership (CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND LEAGUES CLUB LIMITED)
    • This is when you pay like $10 a year to join the physical leagues club at Kareela or (one day again), Woolooware. Basically the "social club"
    • I believe you have to be a leagues club member for three years to vote in leagues club elections and AGMs
  • 3) Football Club membership ("CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND DISTRICT RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL CLUB")
    • When you buy your memberships in October, you can choose the "Voting Rights" add-on. This gives you the right to vote in the "football club" elections and AGMs
    • I believe, similar to above, you need to be a "Voting Rights" member (football club member) for three years to vote in the "football club" elections and AGMs.
I think only the club's lawyers know exactly how it all works, but in practice, the Leagues Club and the Football Club boards are basically the same:
  • You vote for the directors at the same time (maybe on two separate sheets of paper), and in practice, the directors of each are generally the same. There hasn't been an election for ages
  • When you have an AGM, the main Leagues Club AGM is held first and generally goes for around 1-2 hours. The Football Club meeting is held after and is generally wrapped up within half an hour (it mostly covers similar ground). Often it involves confirming similar motions (e.g. life memberships of both clubs)

In terms of voting methods, I believe:
  • For the Leagues Club
    • Proxy voting is not allowed under government legislation (Registered Clubs Act NSW). This is mainly intended to prevent club take-over
    • Recent changes to this legislation do allow electronic voting over Zoom etc (you have to be present in the meeting). But my understanding is that we as a club don't currently support this. I have not seen any evidence of members being online/polled on Zoom, at least since Covid ended. The club would be the best to confirm that though.
  • For the Football Club:
    • It looks like proxy voting may be allowed, based on the AGM notices. But some notices from different years are conflicting. I am not certain if the Football Club is considered a Registered Club.
    • Again I haven't seen any evidence that we support voting over Zoom etc.

I've attached sample AGM notices from this year which give a little more detail.

You can also find the last publicly available Leagues Club Constitution PDF here:
There have however been multiple changes since then, most of them fairly procedural.

I don't think there has ever been a publicly available Football Club Constitution.

But yes the club is the ultimate source of information here. Possibly the Leagues Club might be better to contact: https://sharksatkareela.com.au/contact-us/
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Amazing reply thank you 🙏
 
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Reactions: SF
SF said:
It’s great to hear someone who appreciates the fact we are member owned and do have a vote! Not many do :)

Unfortunately, the quick answer is that I think you'd struggle to vote from the US.

The system is very complex, due to the history. There are two types of boards/elections (leagues club and football club), and three types of membership. Below is my understanding, but I can't guarantee everything is correct.

Membership types:
  • 1) The annual football ticketed/non-ticketed memberships (season passes) which go on sale soon in October.
    • These don't give you any voting rights by themselves.
  • 2) Leagues Club membership (CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND LEAGUES CLUB LIMITED)
    • This is when you pay like $10 a year to join the physical leagues club at Kareela or (one day again), Woolooware. Basically the "social club"
    • I believe you have to be a leagues club member for three years to vote in leagues club elections and AGMs
  • 3) Football Club membership ("CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND DISTRICT RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL CLUB")
    • When you buy your memberships in October, you can choose the "Voting Rights" add-on. This gives you the right to vote in the "football club" elections and AGMs
    • I believe, similar to above, you need to be a "Voting Rights" member (football club member) for three years to vote in the "football club" elections and AGMs.
I think only the club's lawyers know exactly how it all works, but in practice, the Leagues Club and the Football Club boards are basically the same:
  • You vote for the directors at the same time (maybe on two separate sheets of paper), and in practice, the directors of each are generally the same. There hasn't been an election for ages
  • When you have an AGM, the main Leagues Club AGM is held first and generally goes for around 1-2 hours. The Football Club meeting is held after and is generally wrapped up within half an hour (it mostly covers similar ground). Often it involves confirming similar motions (e.g. life memberships of both clubs)

In terms of voting methods, I believe:
  • For the Leagues Club
    • Proxy voting is not allowed under government legislation (Registered Clubs Act NSW). This is mainly intended to prevent club take-over
    • Recent changes to this legislation do allow electronic voting over Zoom etc (you have to be present in the meeting). But my understanding is that we as a club don't currently support this. I have not seen any evidence of members being online/polled on Zoom, at least since Covid ended. The club would be the best to confirm that though.
  • For the Football Club:
    • It looks like proxy voting may be allowed, based on the AGM notices. But some notices from different years are conflicting. I am not certain if the Football Club is considered a Registered Club.
    • Again I haven't seen any evidence that we support voting over Zoom etc.

I've attached sample AGM notices from this year which give a little more detail.

You can also find the last publicly available Leagues Club Constitution PDF here:
There have however been multiple changes since then, most of them fairly procedural.

I don't think there has ever been a publicly available Football Club Constitution.

But yes the club is the ultimate source of information here. Possibly the Leagues Club might be better to contact: https://sharksatkareela.com.au/contact-us/
Click to expand...
Amazing reply thank you 🙏
 
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Reactions: SF
SF said:
Yeah I just edited that part actually, I realised I was a bit wrong.

I think the Registered Clubs Act does allow it, but I have not seen the club offer it since Covid at least... possibly just due to lack of interest though.

And when I look again at the AGM notices, it looks like proxy voting is disallowed in the leagues club meeting (due to being a registered club), but may be allowed in the Football Club meeting.
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Welcome to our new forum member from Ilinois.

My understanding is that the Constitution was amended at the AGM in March 2023 to allow virtual meetings but to date has not been utilised by the club. This is separate to mechanism required for voting .
 
So again I find myself in this thread. My knowledge on League rugby is limited right now but I do have some biz knowledge. In my research, this club although it is profitable, is in a bit of a crisis with the stadium situation. They likely will have to sell at least part of club to NRL or others to help find a stadium.
Personally I would love to see management make a public equity offering of around 10-30% of club. Can raise capital, give Executives chance to buy shares and put money where their mouth is, and allow fans to own a stake in club as well. This would not cure situation as this would only raise around 10-15million at the valuations I have seen but I feel it would definitely help. Public funding will still likely be needed.

1. Has there been any mention of making a public stock offering?
2. If not, then I encourage the members here who seem to have some real insight in the club to take this idea and run with it.

A couple successful examples of this has been the Brisbane Broncos, have a look at their stock performance over the years ( BBL.AX is the symbol)
Also Borussia Dortmund has done it and also sold parts of club to Puma and an electric company to help fund stadium and transfers.

Hopefully Sharks can have a new ground soon and won’t be forced to share a ground or play games outside of their home region.
 
Great_White_Shark_USA said:
So again I find myself in this thread. My knowledge on League rugby is limited right now but I do have some biz knowledge. In my research, this club although it is profitable, is in a bit of a crisis with the stadium situation. They likely will have to sell at least part of club to NRL or others to help find a stadium.
Personally I would love to see management make a public equity offering of around 10-30% of club. Can raise capital, give Executives chance to buy shares and put money where their mouth is, and allow fans to own a stake in club as well. This would not cure situation as this would only raise around 10-15million at the valuations I have seen but I feel it would definitely help. Public funding will still likely be needed.

1. Has there been any mention of making a public stock offering?
2. If not, then I encourage the members here who seem to have some real insight in the club to take this idea and run with it.

A couple successful examples of this has been the Brisbane Broncos, have a look at their stock performance over the years ( BBL.AX is the symbol)
Also Borussia Dortmund has done it and also sold parts of club to Puma and an electric company to help fund stadium and transfers.

Hopefully Sharks can have a new ground soon and won’t be forced to share a ground or play games outside of their home region.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your interest in the Sharks .

Not sure the Brisbane Broncos are a great comparison -
1 - They are majority owned by the Murdoch media conglomerate and
2 - they don't own their stadium , it is owned by the Queensland Government
3 - Brisbane is a 2 team NRL city , Sydney has 9 NRL teams

The Sharks own their own stadium unlike any other NRL club , albeit needing to be upgraded & it will be surrounded by a major income generating asset once the club is completed late 2026. The question is how to fund the ground upgrade & what control of the ground we need to give up to structure the financing . We are fortunate to have a very financially competent Board to address the issue .
 
Great_White_Shark_USA said:
Thank you again for response. Everyone in the forum has been great and one can learn so much about the club here.

Yes my interest in the Sharks seems random but it is not.
1. My late Dad loved sharks. Not the Sharks, but just sharks lol.
2. The team my family supports is the Chicago Cubs, which it just happens that 2016 was also their one amazing year ( first title in 108 years).
3. Membership ownership of a club is rare and should be preserved.
4. Rugby league is the most American ready sport that America doesn’t know much about. Took 50 years and billions of $$ for people to like soccer here.
It would take 5 minutes for red blooded Americans to love this sport if exposed to it regularly. ( NRL season is mostly opposite the NFL year).

Glad to know that you have faith in the Board in this time for the Sharks. I didn’t know that they owned Shark Park, that is impressive. Hoping it goes well with the renovations that are very much needed. Maybe a stock offering could be used if needed.
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Hey mate I'd say that's pretty random haha
 
Anyone remember this upstanding citizen?

The former boss of Club Marconi, Tony Zappia, has been fined and banned from office for a year after an inquiry found he had engaged in “deliberate dishonest and fraudulent conduct”.

A Herald investigation in 2021 revealed that Zappia, the club’s CEO, had authorised the payment of a fraudulent invoice submitted by a convicted fraudster.

www.smh.com.au

‘Dishonest and fraudulent’: Former Sydney club boss Tony Zappia banned

The former boss of the Cronulla Sharks and Club Marconi has been fined and banned after he authorised the payment of a fraudulent invoice.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au
 
HaroldBishop said:
Anyone remember this upstanding citizen?

The former boss of Club Marconi, Tony Zappia, has been fined and banned from office for a year after an inquiry found he had engaged in “deliberate dishonest and fraudulent conduct”.

A Herald investigation in 2021 revealed that Zappia, the club’s CEO, had authorised the payment of a fraudulent invoice submitted by a convicted fraudster.

www.smh.com.au

‘Dishonest and fraudulent’: Former Sydney club boss Tony Zappia banned

The former boss of the Cronulla Sharks and Club Marconi has been fined and banned after he authorised the payment of a fraudulent invoice.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au
Click to expand...
Wow. I had forgotten until this. What a human being!
 
Fun times!

My memory is though that he was actually decent at parts of the job, just couldn’t help himself
 
SF said:
Gary Dover has gone to the Bulldogs as Head of Marketing & Content, he was Head of Brand & Creative here.

(from his Instagram)
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Interesting, seemed like a solid guy but doesn’t scream head of Marketing and actually think who ever is doing the off season work now is better.

Hopefully he’s a double agent
 
Will miss hearing him on Sharkcast, I always liked the Gaz & Shinazz episodes (partly because there was often some game-day gossip!). But he seemed very personable. Maybe the Bulldogs will still let him contribute sometimes, and then he could speak a little more freely on the team.

I think the Sharks branding and design has been strong for a long time, so I think he'll be a tough one to replace. All the comments on his posts from the players show he'll be well-missed.
 
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