Property deal will have Sharks swimming strong
April 14, 2013
Adrian Proszenko
Chief Rugby League Reporter
Cronulla chairman Glenn Coleman says the club will emerge from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority dramas as a powerhouse with at least $35 million in the bank within five years.
While the Australian Crime Commission and ASADA investigations have raised fears about the long-term viability of the Shire outfit, Coleman channelled Mark Twain, saying ''rumours of the death of our club have been greatly exaggerated''.
Three years ago, Cronulla was on the brink of closing its doors.
''I remember [director] Craig [Douglas] telling me he didn't know if he was going to call the receiver before or after Christmas,'' Coleman said.
''To get from that situation to where we are now is a phenomenal effort. It's one of the greatest untold stories of rugby league. I was reading the other day a quote from John D. Rockefeller which said that out of adversity there is always a lot of opportunity. I think that applies to the club at the moment.''
Coleman predicts the club will pocket about $30 million from the residential side of its major property development, while earnings from the retail component will swell the coffers to at least $35 million.
''Tell me any other NRL side that's got that going for it,'' Coleman said. ''Unfortunately, there is a lot of emotion around the ASADA investigation, which everyone is focusing on at the moment. If you stripped that out of it, we're in a very good place.''
For the first time in almost two decades, Coleman is one of the faces of the club. The winger made his debut for the Sharks in 1986 and was immortalised in a Tooheys advertisement the next year. Legendary coach Jack Gibson asked the players how they wanted to split the money from the ad.
''Unbeknownst to all the players, they said they'd make the ad about Glenn Coleman, this young kid who comes good,'' Coleman said. ''Jack came into the dressing room at the time and said 'Kiddos, What do you want to do with [the money]?' Everyone put up their hand, including me, saying we should split it evenly. We were all deadset certain the ad was going to be about Andrew Ettingshausen. I'd just voted to split it up.''
The only certainty at the upcoming board elections, beginning on Tuesday, is Coleman will remain chairman unopposed. The 47-year-old came into the role after Damian Irvine stepped down and none of the prospective directors were eligible to challenge him. It is the first time he has been involved in league since his playing days. He has been a property developer and the head of the Coleman Group, a sign-writing business started by his grandfather.
He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty - he helped out on a concrete pour when he was short of labourers at a job at Annandale during the week. It is a trait that could serve him well in his latest position.
''There is dignity in labour,'' he said. ''You've got to be able to talk to guys from the western suburbs and then be able to go and have lunch with [NRL boss] Dave Smith,'' he said. ''Under Jack Gibson, you learn that if you work hard and do the right thing, it will pay off.
''That's what I'm trying to do now with the club.''
Coleman, whose nickname is 'Hypo', insists he will have the energy to juggle his Sharks and business commitments. ''My friends at school thought I was hyperactive but, unfortunately, being hyperactive is spelt 'hyper' - the blokes I went to school with weren't that educated so it was 'hypo', which means low,'' he said.
His staying power was evident during a particularly boisterous Mad Monday session with his teammates two decades ago. While many were exhausted after a day of revelry, Coleman found himself on the roof of the Caringbah Inn.
''Something about rowing a surfboat on top of a bar,'' Coleman chuckled sheepishly. ''It's possible that one or two players may have climbed up and rowed it … It's not the sort of thing I normally do but it might have happened.''
