Beleaguered National Rugby League side Parramatta directors spent Monday "firming up moves to future-proof the club" against privatization amid fears from the boardroom that the NRL "may use the appointment of an administrator to sell a stake in the Eels," according to Brent Read of THE AUSTRALIAN. Eels directors, who lodged their application to the NRL to "seek leave to appeal their sanctions for salary cap rorts" on Monday, are bracing for the state government to "remove them from power," the latest installment "in a saga which has dragged on for months." The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority will meet Tuesday to decide whether the Eels board "remains an effective governing body," the precursor to New South Wales Deputy Premier Troy Grant "potentially acting against the directors and appointing an administrator in their place." While ILGA "only has the power to remove directors of the powerful Parramatta Leagues Club," the same directors -- barring the three who were deregistered by the NRL -- "are also at the helm of the football club" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 7/19). In Sydney, Chris Barrett wrote there was a "last days" quality about the Parramatta board on Monday. It had been due to meet with NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and Integrity Head Nick Weeks in the afternoon "but that was cancelled after the foreshadowing of their fate" over the weekend by Grant. Parramatta Dir Paul Garrard said that the board "had a responsibility to appeal the severity of the NRL penalty." The deduction of 12 competition points was not being contested but after advice from its lawyers, Carroll & O'Dea, "the board is arguing against" the A$1M ($760,000) fine, "believing it to be excessive," and the removal of the Eels' for-and-against record for the first nine rounds of the season when the team was deemed to be over the cap. Garrard: "You can appeal on a number of different areas. We feel the penalty is too severe. It could be mitigated by a lot of the very good governance work that has been implemented in the last 12 months." It is understood a new football club board, "appointed under a merit-based system," could be assembled within eight weeks under the direction of an administrator and leagues club CEO Bevan Paul (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 7/18).
