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Peter ‘Bullfrog’ Moore was one of the most outstanding sporting administrators of all time, so it surprised no one when Lynne Anderson, one of his nine children, led a reform ticket at the Bulldogs to almost wipe out the incumbent board of directors.
Bullfrog, a Belmore newsagent at the time, began his 26-year reign in 1969 and netted 20 years of rugby league finals, five premierships, and four losing grand finals.
The secret to his success was setting up a culture of a family club – literally.
The perfect example was the 1980 premiership-winning side of Greg Brentnall, Chris Anderson, Chris Mortimer, Peter Mortimer, Steve Gearin, Garry Hughes, Steve Mortimer, Mark Hughes, Steve Folkes, Graeme Hughes, Geoff Robinson, George Peponis (c), and John Coveny.
Known as ‘The Entertainers’, Anderson and Folkes married Bullfrog’s daughters Lynne and Karen, the three Hughes brothers were Bullfrog’s nephews, and the family culture was enhanced by three Mortimer brothers.
Between them, they played 1530 games for the club, with Anderson and Folkes going on to coach the Bulldogs to premierships.
Club members didn’t have to be related to Bullfrog to be part of the family, the culture was all-embracing. But there have been lean times at Belmore in recent years, with the culture lost in the telling.
Until last Sunday.
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In a bitterly fought AGM, Lynne Anderson promised a return to the family culture to top the votes.
And with a track record of being caught up in the Bulldog culture from the moment she could walk, Lynne is the new chair.
On the reform ticket were her husband, Chris Anderson, long-term Bulldogs Steve Price, Paul Dunn, and the only survivor of the past board Steve Mortimer, with 824 Bulldog games between them. There’s also dual international John Ballesty, who as general manager of the Canterbury Leagues Club turned it from near insolvency in 1982 into one of Australia’s most financially successful clubs, and life-long Belmore tragic John Khoury, who brings vast corporate experience.
That’s the off-field leadership, with Dean Pay – who played 108 games in blue and white – the on-field leader as coach.
There are so many positives in the new regime, but there are major questions still to be answered.
The most vital will be Kieran Foran’s attitude, and availability.
Having played the last of his 147 games for Manly in 2015, Foran only played nine for Parramatta in 2016, and 17 for the Warriors last season. As one of the new signings, four clubs in as many years hardly conjures up stability, nor loyalty.
On the other side of the coin, the previous board punted Josh Reynolds to the Wests Tigers, and James Graham to the Dragons, when both were club and fan faithfuls.
And the sloppy sacking of coach Des Hasler remains undecided in a $2 million damages claim yet to be heard in court.
But the vast majority of evidence strongly suggests board, led by Lynne Anderson, and the on-field team led by Dean Pay will put the bite back in the Bulldogs.