Independence push faces round one body blow but clubs will fight on
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday February 18, 2010
POWERBROKERS behind the NRL's independent commission refuse to be derailed by the prospect of the changeover failing to take place by the start of the season, as they believe having the new model established by March 12 is of symbolic value only.While all 16 clubs voted to encourage the commission to be approved by round one, Gold Coast chief executive Michael Searle, the chief architect of the restructure, remains stoic in his belief that it hardly matters when it ultimately begins."If there's genuine intent, it doesn't matter whether it's March 12, March 15 or some time in April," Searle said. "We just don't want to be sitting back and waiting for it to happen and it not happen. Now, there appears to be genuine intent ... it would have been a great opportunity for the game to start off with this change. But that's not the end of it."Brisbane's chief executive Bruno Cullen, who like Searle is part of a restructure subcommittee that has been the driving force behind independence, admitted yesterday that the likelihood of the commission being established by round one was slim.It followed remarks from Ross Livermore, head of the QRL, which is seen as the major stumbling block to the commission, described as a "joke" the prospect of the new model being in place by March 12."It probably won't happen by the start of the season, and it's come about because of a lack of urgency and a lack of application in that regard," Cullen conceded.It is understood the commission in no way hinges on any deadline, and that the most powerful men behind the push remain convinced it will happen. Executives from News Limited are believed to be meeting commission heavyweights on a weekly basis."Yes, time has moved on," Cullen said. "When we [the clubs] met on that, it was the 18th of January. That's a full month ago. I think now, it's [round one] looking like it's impossible."That's not a problem. We've just got to work through these things."It wasn't a deadline, it wasn't a demand. This just means it's being dragged out a little longer."We've done what we can do - the clubs have got no power at all in this. We've just got to sit and wait for it to play out. There's some hurdles there. We've just got to keep plugging away."Ironically, the QRL have called in a public relations firm in an effort to manage its message after becoming frustrated with being cast as the unreasonable stumbling block on the road to a commission.Brisbane company Rowland, which specialises in "corporate reputation management", was hired this month to advise the QRL on how it could better gain a direct line to its constituents. The result is an open letter and fact sheet sent to parents, players and administrators in Queensland."We've been getting bagged as being the 'head in the sand' blokes," Livermore said. "We were getting sick of that happening and not getting our story across."We've often used a company here and there. We just seek advice from them sometimes - they say, 'Well, this is the way we think you should handle it.' And that's what we did."On the establishment of an independent commission, Livermore maintained: "I couldn't put a timeline on it but we're hopeful it will be sooner than later."Meanwhile, the injury fallout from the All Stars clash could worsen, with young Brisbane winger Jharal Yow Yeh a chance of being out for the first two months of the season with a knee injury.The Broncos' medical staff face three options for the 20-year-old: leave the injury - a tear in his cartilage - to repair itself; have an arthroscopy, or; surgically stitch the damage. The final option, the most likely due to his age, would rule him out for 12 weeks.Club officials are likely to make a decision today.
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald