My Priorities
1. Put Football Knowledge at the Heart of Football Decisions
My highest priority is ensuring that the Parramatta Leagues Club has access to experienced rugby league minds when making decisions that affect our NRL, NRLW and pathways programs.
That may include people like myself, but more importantly it should include individuals with greater football knowledge and experience than I possess. Good governance and sound financial management are essential, but football decisions should also be informed by people who understand the game, player development, recruitment and the culture required to build sustained success.
Those people should then be transparent and answerable to our members.
2. Give Members a Genuine Voice
2. Give Members a Genuine Voice
Being a Parramatta Eels Member should mean more than receiving a membership pack, buying merchandise and attending games.
Members are the custodians of this club. They provide its passion, loyalty and identity across generations, yet under the current structure ordinary Parramatta Eels Members have no direct ownership interest in the Parramatta National Rugby League Club (PNRL) and do not elect any of its seven directors.
I believe it is time to consider a different model.
I am not advocating a return to the governance instability of the past. I supported stronger governance reforms when Parramatta needed them, and I believe professional governance, director qualifications, appropriate independence and accountability must remain.
But strong governance and member democracy do not have to be mutually exclusive.
A Parramatta Eels Members Club
I propose that consideration be given to establishing a new Parramatta Eels Members organisation, structured as a company limited by guarantee and established specifically to represent Parramatta Eels Members.
Under the model I am proposing:
- Parramatta Leagues Club would retain 60% ownership of PNRL, remaining its majority shareholder.
- The new Eels Members organisation would hold 40% of PNRL on behalf of eligible Eels Members.
- The seven-person PNRL Board would consist of three Leagues Club representatives, three directors directly elected by eligible Eels Members, and one genuinely independent director.
- Eels Members would become eligible to vote from 16 years of age after three continuous years of eligible membership, with Junior membership counting towards that qualifying period.
- PNRL Life Members would receive voting membership for life.
- Director candidates would still be required to satisfy appropriate governance, skills, integrity and regulatory requirements.
- The Members organisation would hold its own AGM, elect representatives and provide members with a genuine democratic voice.
- A special Heritage Share would protect fundamental elements of our club—including the Parramatta Eels name, blue and gold colours, badge and identity—from being changed without member approval.
The objective is not to have members deciding team selections, recruitment or the day-to-day operation of the football department.
Those responsibilities belong with the professional people employed to perform them.
The objective is to give members a genuine voice in who governs their football club and the principles under which it is governed.
60% Leagues Club. 40% Eels Members. One Parramatta.
This model would maintain the Parramatta Leagues Club as the majority owner of PNRL while creating a direct ownership connection between the football club and the people who have supported it for generations.
Neither group would control the seven-person PNRL Board on its own.
The three Leagues Club representatives and three Member-elected representatives would be joined by an Independent Director, requiring directors to work together in the best interests of Parramatta.
Important constitutional decisions could require support from both the Leagues Club membership and Eels Members, ensuring that neither side could fundamentally change the governance settlement alone.
This is a proposal for discussion. Any change of this magnitude would require detailed legal, regulatory and NRL consideration and would ultimately need to follow the constitutional approval processes that protect the club.
But I believe Parramatta Members deserve the opportunity to have that discussion.
Read the Proposed Governance Model
I have prepared two working documents setting out how this could operate in practice.
Proposed Changes to the PNRL Constitution
This document outlines the proposed 60/40 ownership structure, 3–3–1 PNRL Board, Member-elected directors, Heritage Share, protected matters and changes to the existing PNRL governance arrangements.
Draft Constitution – Parramatta Eels Members Organisation
This is a working draft of the constitution that could govern the new Members organisation, including membership eligibility, the three-year qualification period, voting from age 16, Life Members, elections, AGMs, the 40% PNRL ownership interest and protection of the club’s heritage.
This is not about going back to the past. It is about taking the next step forward—retaining professional governance while returning a meaningful voice and ownership stake to Parramatta Eels Members.
3. Honour Our Past by Building Our Future
The Parramatta Leagues Club’s second object is to promote the game of rugby league. That should remain one of our highest priorities.
One of the club’s most enduring mottos is:
“Let those who drink the water remember those who dug the well.”
We have done an excellent job of recognising and honouring those who built this great club. That history deserves to be celebrated. Further celebrating those that are currently doing great work with the football club and have been for the last 10 years should be recognized with life membership as it was during the time of the Parramatta District Rugby League Club (PDRLC) whose life members are now life members of the Parramatta National Rugby League Club (PNRLC) in the proposed Parramatta Eels Members Club.
Every generation also has a responsibility to dig the well for those who follow and if they have done that good work, they deserve to be acknowledged.
My priority is to ensure we are investing in the future of Parramatta rugby league—from our junior pathways and women’s programs through to our NRL side—so that future generations inherit a club that is stronger than the one we enjoy today.
4. Support the Redevelopment of the Parramatta Leagues Club Precinct (Parramatta Live)
I fully support the redevelopment of the Parramatta Leagues Club precinct and the opportunities it will create for our members, supporters and the wider community.
A modern, vibrant precinct will provide first-class facilities for members, fans, players and staff—not just on game days, but every day of the year. It will strengthen the financial future of our club, enhance the match-day experience, and ensure Parramatta remains one of the premier sporting and community destinations in Australia.
Supporting this redevelopment and advocating for greater football knowledge within our club are not conflicting priorities. In fact, I believe they complement one another.
A financially strong Leagues Club provides the foundation for football success. My goal is to ensure that, as we build outstanding facilities for the future, we also build an outstanding football organisation capable of delivering sustained success in our NRL, NRLW and pathways programs.
5. Honour the First Custodians of Our Land
Parramatta is one of the oldest places of continuous human occupation in Australia. The name “Parramatta” is derived from the Dharug language, and the Barramattagal people are recognised as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our club stands.
As part of the redevelopment of the Parramatta Leagues Club precinct, I believe we have an opportunity to respectfully acknowledge and celebrate that history.
For many years, a statue at the front of the Leagues Club served as a reminder of the area’s Indigenous heritage. Since the redevelopment, that recognition has been absent.
Why should I vote for Mark