National Rugby League Cronulla Sharks CEO Bruno Cullen "quit in disgust Monday night over the board's decision to reappoint trainer Mark Noakes, who has claimed that players were injected with peptides in 2011," according to Wilson, Massoud & Hooper of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. The club's board "overturned the decision of their predecessors" to sack Noakes in March, along with football Manager Darren Mooney, veteran doctor David Givney and physiotherapist Konrad Schultz. All four dismissed staff were also given a "full apology" Monday, with Givney and Schultz invited to reapply for their old jobs next season (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 7/30). The AAP reported Cullen "had been considering his role with the club but quickly made his move when the directors of the Sharks failed to consult him over the latest developments." Cullen "had been appointed by the NRL to run the Sharks in March" in the wake of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation, the club "having previously operated for some time without a CEO" (AAP, 7/29).
'BLOODY SHAMBLES': In Sydney, Stuart Honeysett reported former NRL Parramatta Dir Sid Kelly "has claimed the club's board is a 'bloody shambles' and the constant bickering behind the scenes has contributed to the team's woeful performances on the field this year." Kelly tendered his resignation Monday to Chair Steve Sharp "in a move which severely depletes the number of representatives from the football club." His move "could trigger another election" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 7/30).
