Eels CEO Report

EELS CEO REPORT

BERNIE GURR

“We are committed to being a Development Club, a Club where we will identify and develop elite, young Rugby League Players through the Parramatta Junior Representative Program to the NRL team.”

Dear Members

The 2018 NRL season was a major disappointment for our Parramatta Eels Rugby League Club. After our 4th placing in 2017, we did not perform to expectations in season 2018 and finished at the bottom of the premiership table.

Towards the back end of such a season, our Club undertook an extensive, independent review of our Football Department. Our entire Club was disappointed for our Members and fans in 2018 and we realised that we needed to re-assess how we were operating as a Football Program.

The broader purpose and rationale for conducting this review project was to assess ourselves against best practice sporting organisations to ensure that, going forward, the Club has appropriate personnel, systems, resources, processes and structures in place to deliver sustainable on-field success at the NRL level. We are committed to delivering success for our Members and fans and we believe the review and the recommendations out of the review give us the best opportunity to achieve such success.

The review was a thorough and extensive process and provides us with a roadmap to help drive sustained performance going forward. The review identified a number of areas of improvement as well as a number of areas where we are doing well.

The Club has appointed Mark O’Neill as General Manager of Football to assume management responsibilities of the Football Department. This appointment will provide an experienced resource to help develop and execute a best-practice, high performance football strategy. We have made increased investments in our Football Program in order to provide our Head Coach, Brad Arthur, and our Players the resources they require to strive for success.

We are committed to being a Development Club, a Club where we will identify and develop elite, young Rugby League Players through the Parramatta Junior Representative Program to the NRL team. Simultaneously, we will maintain our focus on the off-field wellbeing and education of all our Players and Staff.

Off the field, the Club continued its pursuit of excellent corporate governance and financial stability. The Football Club will have a loss of approximately $3.9 million for the year ended 31 October 2018, a substantial improvement on the $10.2 million loss of 2017 and the $12 million loss of 2016.

Our Membership team produced record membership numbers in 2018 while our Commercial team continues to generate traction in a competitive marketplace.

We continue to focus on our Parramatta Junior League (PJL); we have around 6,000 kids playing Rugby League in the PJL and we will continue to provide substantial support to the kids and families in our district. In addition, the commitment of our NRL Players to our Club’s other Community initiatives is inspiring. Our Players are doing much wonderful work in the community and we are appreciative of their contributions.

There was great news for our Club at the end of October when we reached an agreement to play the future home games of the Parramatta Eels at the magnificent Western Sydney Stadium, now known as Bankwest Stadium. This agreement commences in 2019 and confirms the Parramatta Eels will be a key anchor tenant at Bankwest Stadium for at least the next fifteen years.

Our Board and Management are now focused on ensuring Bankwest Stadium and the Parramatta Leagues Club precinct will deliver the best game day experience for our Members, corporate partners and community stakeholders. This Stadium will also contribute to the Club’s financial stability, allowing us to invest further in our Football programs.

The Opening Game at Western Sydney Stadium is scheduled to be our home game in Round 6 of the 2019 NRL Premiership against the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday, 22 April 2019.

Thank you to all our Members for your continued support and loyalty - we can’t wait to welcome you into our new Blue & Gold fortress in 2019! Our NRL team is back in training for the 2019 season and, with the addition of Blake Ferguson, Junior Paulo, Tim Lane and Maika Sivo to our squad, along with the development of our young Players, we look for substantial improvement in 2019.

We continue to work closely with our colleagues at PLC and recognise the outstanding support provided by Bevan Paul and his team at PLC to the Parramatta Eels.

To all our Staff and Players – I thank you for your contributions to our great Club.

Best regards,

Bernie Gurr Chief Executive Officer Parramatta National Rugby League Club Pty Limited