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The 2018 season will be pivotal for the Bulldogs board

Steve Doggies new author
Roar Rookie
14th January, 2018
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(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Steve Doggies new author
Roar Rookie
14th January, 2018
48
1924 Reads

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs annual general meeting (AGM) is being held on 11 February, and this year is an election year.

The past 15 years have been interesting times at the Bulldogs both on and off the field, but this election looms as perhaps the most important moment in the club’s history.

On the surface the current board, spearheaded by Ray Dib, is in for a heck of a fight to retain control. His team will come head to head with some pretty impressive opponents headed by Lynne Anderson, daughter of Peter Bullfrog Moore and current CEO of the Australian Paralympic Committee; Chris Anderson, ex-Bulldog player and coach; and Bulldogs legend Steve Price.

Much has been written about poor decisions made by the front office over the last 12 months and the Dogs, a club used to success, have reacted. But is it too little too late for Dib? Will the membership continue to support his one-man band style leadership or will they attempt the trifecta of a new coach, new CEO and new board?

The time is right for change.

(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The decisions made over the last 12 to 18 months have cost the club another captain, the player who epitomised the club ethos, Josh Reynolds, and they will likely cost the club financially when legal proceedings are concluded over the coaching mess.

But it’s unlikely, however, things will be so clear-cut on the day of the vote.

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Between 3000 and 4000 members generally attend the AGM, and that number will likely swell to up to 6000 for this election. That leaves a rough estimate of as many as 4000 members who either will not vote or will provide a proxy vote. It is those members who will determine the final result.

Generally the proxy will vest in the chairman, but what will Dib do? He could retain all of the proxies for himself and thereby guarantee his retention on the board – or will he distribute the proxies among his own ticket and try to get them all over the line and guarantee his continuity in the top job? Either option is a big gamble, and based on his track record, he doesn’t mind rolling the dice.

No matter what happens on the day, the members are in for a long wait before the make-up of the incoming board is known.

The lobbying by the various factions over the next month will only add to the theatre. I look forward to it.

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