Official Cronulla Sharks Board + Management

[Garbs]

I can't imagine that there'd be many non-local voting members anyway. There's not a whole lot of football club members and why would you be a member of the Leagues Club if you lived in another state?

 

[sharkiesboomboomboom]

I can't imagine that there'd be many non-local voting members anyway. There's not a whole lot of football club members and why would you be a member of the Leagues Club if you lived in another state?

Not sure about interstate but there is a very good reason to be a leagues club member if you even only get to one game a season- direct and quick access to the club, especially when the crowd is big. Beer....get me to the beer.

 

[Peter-Cobb]

"tips" I appreciate the feedback but no need to say sorry. I just cannot understand how you don't appreciate how real the chance is that we will move or go. You state that "What you said in my opinion was hysterical and contained a clear absence of any facts. I was literally gobsmacked by your comments..". A clear absence of facts? Are you serious?

For years not only the media but the NRL have spoken about there simply being too many clubs in Sydney. The Sharks for example compete against Brisbane who have single team single city profile. Sponsors come knocking as there is something unique about Brisbane. The same can be said for Titans, Newcastle, Cowboys, Melbourne. We compete in a tough market. And within that tough market we are not doing too well. A lack of sponsors, reports of financial trouble (again), and the way we handled the ASADA issue have weakened us considerably. The current board have delivered us to this position.

I don't know if you were around when the mergers happened - Bears/Manly, Steelers/Dragons, Magpies/Tigers brought about by the same reasons. Newtown gone, Souths gone. You don't think there were families for generations who attended North Sydney Oval, or Henson Park? C'mon get serious. We haven't played in a grand final since 1978 and are yet to win a premiership. Who out of all the Sydney clubs is the most vulnerable right at this moment to be relocated or as many of the papers were saying in March - finished? Souths have 24000 members, our goal is to try and reach 10000.

I say to all Sharks supporters and not just "tips" have a good look. I do my research. How many other boards have provided legal advice to themselves (board members)? Ours did. And why would any individual board member require legal advice paid for by the club? It is a question that I think will be answered in time. The board need to be transparent on exactly how much of the Club's money has been spent on media teams (spin doctors), legal advice for the board (not the club), consultants like Kavanagh and so many other financial outlays.

You get the right team in on the board and the Sharks will be back on the right course.

 

[Bundy Shark]

Peter, I try to be as fair as possible, I admit my understanding & intelligance on this whole board voting thing is beyond me, I realize with or without being deliberate there is am element of smearing & perhaps agenda driven statements from both sides or from board members or future board members & their supporters which are all jockeying for a position on the board.

Do you intend to contact Mr Craig Douglas as Fitz has suggested & as according to Fitz you might have a better or different understanding on where we currently are, if you choose not to would you explain why not?

I am not being a smart arse with the above question I am just curious as to why you wouldn't.

 

[tips]

That is a load of crap Peter, i am going to stop engaging with you as I am giving you undeserved air.

Your comments might be interesting to some as general banter on a forum, but you are putting yourself up as a potential board member and our self proclaimed saviour, some sort of god like figure that will win premierships because you're a part time board member - you are seriously delusional!!

Answer my questions and you might restore some credibility.

I can't be bothered dissecting every thing you have said but as an example; the NRL have never stated there are too many teams in Sydney - in fact they publicly declared their intent is to support the existing teams. It has been the media! Where you seem to get all your facts from...

Finally, god help those that vote for you and my message is the same to those that voted for Julia Gillard; you deserve everything you get!!

 

[puma1355]

"tips" I appreciate the feedback but no need to say sorry. I just cannot understand how you don't appreciate how real the chance is that we will move or go. You state that "What you said in my opinion was hysterical and contained a clear absence of any facts. I was literally gobsmacked by your comments..". A clear absence of facts? Are you serious?

For years not only the media but the NRL have spoken about there simply being too many clubs in Sydney. The Sharks for example compete against Brisbane who have single team single city profile. Sponsors come knocking as there is something unique about Brisbane. The same can be said for Titans, Newcastle, Cowboys, Melbourne. We compete in a tough market. And within that tough market we are not doing too well. A lack of sponsors, reports of financial trouble (again), and the way we handled the ASADA issue have weakened us considerably. The current board have delivered us to this position.

I don't know if you were around when the mergers happened - Bears/Manly, Steelers/Dragons, Magpies/Tigers brought about by the same reasons. Newtown gone, Souths gone. You don't think there were families for generations who attended North Sydney Oval, or Henson Park? C'mon get serious. We haven't played in a grand final since 1978 and are yet to win a premiership. Who out of all the Sydney clubs is the most vulnerable right at this moment to be relocated or as many of the papers were saying in March - finished? Souths have 24000 members, our goal is to try and reach 10000.

I say to all Sharks supporters and not just "tips" have a good look. I do my research. How many other boards have provided legal advice to themselves (board members)? Ours did. And why would any individual board member require legal advice paid for by the club? It is a question that I think will be answered in time. The board need to be transparent on exactly how much of the Club's money has been spent on media teams (spin doctors), legal advice for the board (not the club), consultants like Kavanagh and so many other financial outlays.

You get the right team in on the board and the Sharks will be back on the right course.

I agree with your comments. I have already stated my views on this as well.

 

[fitz]

Interesting:

http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1422431/sharks-sponsors-in-sight/?cs=12

 

[Tank]

Interesting:

http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1422431/sharks-sponsors-in-sight/?cs=12

That reads well. It is interesting that we are the club who are always targeted as being broke etc when one would think there are others who would have to be in a worse spot than us!

 

[tips]

Well Peter and everyone else that believes the media hype, that about sums that up then!

The candidates can now let their credentials speak for themselves against other candidates rather than them spreading fear and hysteria with inaccurate statements purporting to be facts.

I'm sure people try to break this down to say they could do better, but in reality this current board have done a great job in securing our future especially considering what they took over a few years ago.

there is still work to be done I believe and that is ensuring that the substantial revenues for future are safeguarded against wilful spending by future boards and I know first hand that this is in the business model being worked on - this is the decision that people should be voting on; Who has the track record of governing this club in increasing all the KPI's that clubs run on and who do you want to govern the club for the next 2 years.

Also please don't put my comments down to me being aligned to anyone or anything - I am not a CSSC member, I do not work for the sharks nor have I previously and I believe Irvine's comments were irresponsible for his position (not a sackable offence however).

I am an absolute outsider who asks questions of people that I know to ensure I have the facts when I am voting - I do not believe the hype or the media (unless it is a direct quote).

A thought for everyone to ponder on; put this statement up in January before the ASADA thing and everyone would be popping the champagne corks. Now ask yourself who brought the ASADA thing to the club, IT WASN'T THE BOARD.

The people that put the club at risk have been dealt with, lets all move on and let the people who know what they are doing get on with their jobs...

 

[Bundy]

I find this article far more interesting...

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...rks-board-in-dark-coleman-20130410-2hlug.html

 

[Shark]

Finally an article that cuts through the clutter and static.

 

[SF]

I was reading the candidate statements in the booklet in the mail today.

There's definitely a lot of good candidates there, among the existing board, among the Unity ticket, and in the unaligned nominees.

Well done to all who have nominated, and hopefully for those who aren't elected, their services can still be offered and made good use of.

 

[fitz]

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE – APRIL 2013

Welcome to the first of what I plan to be regular updates for Sharks members and supporters. I think it’s important that everyone has a good idea what’s going on.

When I joined the Board of the Cronulla Sharks Football Club earlier this year, like all of you I was looking forward to a bumper 2013 season for our football club. We had every reason to be confident of success on the field following our finals appearance last year and some great new recruits joining the playing ranks this year. We also looked forward to the breaking of ground during the year on our ‘Woolooware Bay’ development - the residential, retail and lifestyle development on club-owned land that has transformed our financial outlook from uncertain to arguably the brightest in the NRL.

Let me assure you that despite the challenges that have sprung from nowhere in the past couple of months, I am still excited about our prospects for success in 2013. Nobody is going to pretend the ASADA investigation hasn’t had an impact on our Club. It has, and I will address that shortly. But to paraphrase the great writer Mark Twain, rumours of the death of our club have been greatly exaggerated!!!

We have a long list of reasons to remain positive about our Club:

• We have a great playing roster on the park and despite a couple of tight losses they remain a force to be reckoned with, a fact acknowledged by plenty of good judges inside the game.
• In the past month, and in spite of the recent white water, the club and the Board have built a highly experienced, first-rate management team to oversee all of our operations. We are focused on the long-term success of the Club, a future firmly anchored in the Shire despite some of the more colourful comments out there. The recruitment process has been led by Bruno Cullen, and includes the appointment of former West Tigers and Sydney Roosters CEO Steve Noyce as GM of Football, business and management professional Gy Wallace as Chief Operating Officer, and our latest recruit - finance and sports management professional Peter Legg as General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services. We thank Bruno for his efforts to date and we are delighted to say he will be staying on for the foreseeable future.
• Our negotiations for stadium naming rights and front-of-jersey sponsors are well on the way with companies with a national and international presence. We thank them in advance for their support and are hopeful of an announcement in this area in the near future.
• The Woolooware Bay development has been approved and will proceed regardless of any matters relating to the ASADA investigation. It will provide an ongoing benefit for our club and the Shire. This is in large part why we are able to attract the kind of quality individuals named above to the Sharks. Construction is scheduled to commence later this year.

So no matter what you hear the club has a strong long-term financial outlook, and there is no question – we will be here for the long term.

We have and will continue to give our players and coaching staff all the support they need. We are a Club that has had to deal with the odd challenge. We stick together and we get through whatever we have to get through. Now is no different.

ASADA
The ASADA and ACC joint investigation into drugs in sport has not only been the biggest talking point in the NRL and the AFL this year, it has been one of biggest news stories this year. Newspaper columns, TV and radio reports and social media posts have been everywhere following that joint press conference between ASADA, the Australian Crime Commission and the Federal Government on February 7. Everyone has had a say. To say it caught almost everybody in sport off-guard is an understatement. At the start of the year the Board would have thought it unimaginable that the club would be in the middle of it all.

Two months on and there is no getting away from the fact the ASADA investigation has impacted our club more than any other. There is a lot of uncertainty about the processes and timeframes being followed by ASADA in all of this. In all honesty we can’t predict how much longer the process will take. Some of what has been said and written about the background to the investigation could be called informed commentary, but much of it has fallen somewhere between rumour and guessing. You probably just want some answers.

The facts as best I can lay them out follow.

In the days after the February press conference our Board was told by ASADA and the NRL that not only were we one of a number of ‘clubs of interest’ to ASADA, we were the main focus. We asked the same questions you have been asking. Why is our club being singled out? What of the talk about other clubs? Why should we do anything until some hard evidence is produced? The responses made it very clear we were about to have some major issues land on our doorstep and we couldn’t just bury our heads in the sand. The Board was duty-bound to find out what had occurred and that is why we commissioned our own investigation.

The initial findings from the investigation confirmed a trail of management failures had occurred in 2011. As much as anyone would have liked, we couldn’t have ignored it. They related to the failure to meet standards that must be met by people in positions of responsibility for players who put their trust in them. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about a little athletics club, the Australian Olympic team or our Club – people who put their hand up to do a job are accountable for their actions and inactions, regardless of how long they have been in the job or how well liked they are. These standards always apply regardless –with or without the current situation and the ASADA investigations.

All Boards – and our Board - must act at all times in the best interests of the club and the playing group. The decisions made by the Board since 7 February 2013, particularly those in relation to staff, have been made because we know what our responsibilities are to our players and the Club. They were black and white decisions. We will always do we what we have to do.

There have been lots of rumours. Lots of people getting mixed up by bits and pieces of things they think they know. We are frustrated that we can’t clear all of it up – but in the best interests of our players we are not going to get in the way of the ongoing ASADA investigation. But there are some matters we can sort out.

Firstly, no one should draw conclusions that any of the four staff members, no longer with our club, knowingly did anything to compromise our players with regard to their obligations under the WADA or ASADA code. That’s not why we made our decisions.

Secondly, there have been a number of questions asked about why the Board did not take action in relation to the issues that are the subject of investigation in 2011. While I was not a member of the Board at the time, I am in a position now to be absolutely sure the Board was not made aware of the issues until it was contacted by ASADA and the NRL in February 2013. Reports to the contrary are just plain wrong.

Thirdly, it is really wrong to suggest that the club has offered any inducement or “carrot” to motivate any player to decide to deal with his own circumstances in a particular way. And the club has not taken any step to insulate or protect itself from any responsibility it has to its players.

Finally, after becoming aware of the seriousness of the situation, the Board moved straight away to make sure the players and staff affected had independent legal representation to support them through the ASADA process. This was done to ensure each player had access to fearless advice from lawyers with years of experience in this specialised area, so they could individually decide their best course of action. That knocked out the potential for a conflict of interest between the Board and the players with regard to dealing with anyone’s own circumstances.

The Future
I wish there was a crystal ball that could tell us when the ASADA investigation will be completed and what the outcome will be for the Sharks. The reality is that nobody really knows the answer to these questions, and unless ASADA provides information publicly everybody is left guessing to a large extent. With that in mind, the best thing the Board can do is get on with looking after the players and the Club and provide every level of support the playing and coaching group need. That is our foremost focus and quite simply what we will continue to do. We will deal with whatever we have to deal with.

As I said earlier, we have a great playing roster on the park, an exciting development project underway that will provide ongoing benefits for the Club and local community, and now a first-rate management team to oversee all of our operations. Our first-rate new management team is a pointer to the great future of the Cronulla Sharks.

We have been faced with plenty of challenges in the past and we have always come through the other side a stronger club. If you strip away the ASADA issues, we have never been better placed to achieve success on the park and financial security away from it.

So I ask you to stay positive about 2013. Support the players. Support the Club. Keep looking here - I will keep you up to date with the important stuff as it happens.

Glenn Coleman

Source: http://www.sharks.com.au/news-display/Charimans-Message--April-2013/72131

 

[fitz]

our latest recruit - finance and sports management professional Peter Legg as General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services.

Very good appointment.

 

[snowman]

whats his background?

 

[hamsy44]

He was the General Manager Finance & Corporate Services at National Rugby League

 

[fitz]

whats his background?

Most recently:
General Manager Finance & Corporate Services at National Rugby League

Previously
Sydney Turf Club
Australian Turf Club Limited
Namoi Cotton

Institute of Chartered Accountants

 

[ABshark]

Very good appointment.

At what price? And for how long?

Why has the NRL given up one of its top executives to us?

...what's the cost?

 

[mattaus]

Starting to get concerned about these NRL affiliated appointments.

Hope the board is screening these guys VERY carefully about what they are here to do.

 

[tips]

you guys are still seriously on about this? can't you see it for what it is.. right people for right job at right time.. enough of the conspiracy theories I say - it is hysterical and has been proven to be lacking in any form of facts.

Bruno Cullen was not appointed by the NRL - He is assembling a formidable admin team based on those available that have the best experience for the job. This is what the sharks brought him in to do.

Why did the NRL give them up - its likely David Smith is bringing in his own people and they needed a job. This happens all the time when a new CEO comes into a large organisation.