NRL club criticised over power play
Former manager Gary McIntyre, the central figure in the club’s salary cap scandal, has condemned the Bulldogs’ attempt to increase his presence on the board of the wealthy Canterbury League Club.
The Bulldogs hold the balance of power at the licensed club in Belmore, which has more than 60,000 members and funds the NRL team more than $5 million a year.
But in addition to appointing four of the seven directors, the Bulldogs also backed the election of football club chief executive Aaron Warburton as one of three independent board members of the Canterbury League Club.
Rival candidate McIntyre said this went against commitments made to members 35 years ago.
“I was chairman at the time and I was worried that someone might take control of our league club in 1991,” he said.
“I asked the members to accept [the Bulldogs appointing] four out of seven [directors] To protect the football club. But I told him that the football club had committed itself to management not to recruit any more players.
“This is a matter of honour, and I believe this undermines the dignity of this enterprise.”
McIntyre said he spoke with Warburton and Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould on Monday to outline his position.
The Bulldogs already control the league club with a guaranteed majority on the board and that union will soon include football club chairman Adam Driussi.
Driussi defended the Bulldogs’ move on Thursday.
“The football club is issuing tickets to the League Club elections; we have the right to do that and it has happened many times throughout the history of this club,” he said.
“Canterbury League Club is our closest and most important partner. We believe this ticket will further strengthen that relationship and help ensure both organizations continue to move in the same direction.”
Alongside Warburton, the Bulldogs ticket also includes Canterbury League Club president Peter Winchester and Canterbury Bankstown Chamber of Commerce CEO Wally Mehanna.
Overlooked was league club director Andrew Mortimer, son of four-time premiership winner Steve Mortimer, who later stood down.
McIntyre is running as a rival candidate alongside Elias Coorey, the son of club influencer George Coorey, who was expelled in 2020 for inappropriate behavior towards women, and Coorey’s ally Bill Diakos.
The long-time former club boss returned to the Canterbury League Club board in 2022, two decades after resigning from his role in the Bulldogs’ $1 million salary cap rout, but was disqualified at the biennial poll in 2024 after failing to declare a two-year managerial ban imposed on him in 2002.
Gould, who coached Canterbury to grand final glory in 1988 and has overseen a resurgence since returning to Belmore in 2021, told this magazine: “Everything we’ve built over the last four years has been built on consistency – stability in the boardroom, in the front office and on the field. The results speak for themselves.”
“This club has gone through the most turbulent period in its history, when outside agitators have repeatedly tried to manipulate elections and put themselves in positions of power. This instability has cost us years and damaged everyone associated with this club. We will not go back there.
“Our focus remains on building something that will last, and we will continue to distance ourselves from anyone who seeks to destabilize what we have created.”
McIntyre said he supported the Bulldogs maintaining their influence at the Canterbury League Club. But he said he was concerned that greater representation could raise questions about the football club having an automatic majority on the registered club’s board.
“I don’t want the rule to go to waste,” he said. “But by doing this they are breaking a commitment.”
Voting in club elections will be held on Friday and Saturday.
Chris Barrett is senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Southeast Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age newspapers.Connect with: X or email.
