Welcome to the 2024 second quarter Chairman's Address as business continues across all areas, with the NRL season moving towards Finals and the NRLW Sharks having kicked off their campaign with two encouraging wins.
From the Board's governing duties we will have an update from the Building Committee, detailing the progress on the Leagues Club build and where this is at, a major project which still takes priority and focus at a Management level.
Furthermore, we had a very successful opening of the first-ever Merchandise retail store in the new Bay Central precinct, the tenants at 94 Cronulla Street are well into their fit out and we can expect to see the doors open around October for Rileys Gym, while the very exciting news that the Sharks will play in Las Vegas sees preparations well and truly coming together. Being included amongst the four teams to play in the US is great recognition of our team and brand.
In summary, I again emphasise the fact that we are fortunate to have a well-balanced and contributing Board, offering many hours in supporting the wider business to achieve success.
Thanks once more for your interest and support and see below reports from the various sub-committees.
Nominations Committee
The committee met within the last quarter, and we have completed our Board committee reviews and each committee charter, as an update on committee members see below for your committee representatives.
The committee continues to work on Board composition and the dynamic of the Board and is pleased to share with members that the composition and output of the Board is of the highest standard. Our committee Morry Waked, Madeline Tynan and myself make up this committee and on behalf of the Board thank our members for intrusting us and allowing the Board and management to continue to meet its strategic objectives.
Remuneration & Appointments Committee
The Committee has met during the last quarter and can report that Dr Katie French together with Associate Professor Katrina Green presented to the Board and Management at our March Board Meeting. The presentation was informative and beneficial in what is still an area where more and more research and data is required. Management have since followed up after the meeting to continue to share dialogue and work together with Dr French, so we are up to date with any technology and or advancement in testing in this crucial area. We have also adopted this as a yearly presentation so we can be up to date in all things CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).
We are pleased to report that management is up to date with the activities under the annual calendar and with Budgets nearly upon us for the 2025 year the annual remuneration review will take place as well.
Finally, we continue to have dedicated attention on our key executive retention strategy with all roles firmly positioned in the business to date.
Thank you to our committee members, Morry Waked, Madeline Tynan and with myself overseeing this committee.
Audit and Risk
During the first half of the year the Audit and Risk Committee has been working with management on a couple of specific items of great importance to our future. The Building Committee will be opening tender for a builder to take over the delivery of the Leagues Club, we have been conducting due diligence on potential suppliers and will oversee the tender to ensure a compliant and transparent process.
The 2025 Budget process has commenced even though we have a whole quarter to go this year to ensure we deliver a break even or positive result for 2024.
The Club has entered into contracts with tenants for our investment property at 94 Cronulla Street and we look forward to Rileys Gym opening shortly. We wish them all the best. On the other side of the coin we have taken on the rental of a shop at Bay Central for our new Sharks merchandise store and are very excited to have a new permanent home. The Sharks Store opened towards the end of July, so make sure you get your Sharks gear for the remaining games and upcoming Finals matches!
Finally, the management and Finance department with our external tax advisors have concluded a significant review of our tax position following the closure of the Leagues Club to be absolutely certain we maximise the deductibility of expenses and asset disposals for all our members from 2019 and into the future. Thank you to Alison Lane (Group Financial Controller) and Vince Costa (Group CFO) for the excellent work they have done in this space for the business.
Building Committee
The Building Committee continues to work diligently with our contractors to progress to the commencement of our Leagues Club fit out.
There have been numerous contributing factors to where we are at present, with recent weather conditions unfortunately slowing the necessary works. The committee continues to formally meet each Thursday morning and the team are now on site every day as we draw closer to handover.
One significant milestone is that in mid-August, we will commence the Tender process, whereby four well-credentialed Builders will submit their cases to perform the build. A four-to-six-week turnaround is anticipated while undergoing this process.
A best-practice system has been set up for selecting the successful applicant with a detailed score card so that we carefully review and judge each tender.
As with previous quarterly updates, we sincerely thank Members for their patience. We understand the frustration and the fact that every Member shares our desire to see the Club reopen. It's been a complex project, one that has taken longer than planned, with the goal as it has always been to open a Club within budget and one you can be proud of.
With the Tender pending, we now move into a stage of practical work to bring the Club much closer to an opening date.
Investment Committee
Since the previous update, the last quarter has seen further economic stability across the globe which has been demonstrated through the local Australian reported data.
In regards to RBA cash rate of 4.35%, which most of us follow with keen interest given the direct correlation to individual borrowing costs such as home loans, underlying inflation continues to moderate with headline CPI rates still trending towards the preferred range of the RBA. That coupled with the recent uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.1% in June has led to economist commentary locally changing their immediate RBA cash rate outlook from a continued holding pattern, to a rate cut as soon as November this year. I'm sure that if happens there will be some sense of relief from our members with a mortgage.
From an investment view, the current 4.35% cash rate continues to provide strong returns on our core Metrics Credit Partners investment and above our forecast rates of return. This investment has continued longer than expected given the delays to the Leagues Club redevelopment providing a positive outcome for Sharks in lieu of the prolonged club closure.
The committee continues to work with management on further opportunities to consider, however we maintain focus on the successful delivery of current core existing projects.
We continue to work with management reviewing new investments as they are presented, along with monitoring the current portfolio so we can pivot the investments as required within the approved Investment Strategy if an opportunity presents.
Investment Committee and Management will hold our next scheduled meeting in late August.
Football Committee
NRL
It may have been a somewhat scrappy affair however the win against Souths saw the NRL team remain in fourth position on the NRL ladder. In recent weeks a highlight was Craig Fitzgibbon having the opportunity to present NRL debuts to Liam Ison and Jayden Berrell. Congratulations to both players.
Over the past reporting period we have also seen Ronaldo Mulitalo, Siosifa Talakai, Oregon Kaufusi and Sione Katoa all achieve the 100 NRL game milestone, while this week Will Kennedy reaches that mark when the Sharks play the Titans on the Gold Coast. A great achievement for all concerned.
We look forward to the rest of the season and the upcoming Finals series
NRLW
A great start to the season with two wins from our opening two matches. The early success comes after the hard work put in by the girls over the off-season, under the guidance of head coach Tony Herman and his support staff.
In player achievements, we congratulate two players in Georgia Hannaway and Manilita Takapautolo who have debuted in the NRLW competition over the opening two rounds.
Unfortunately, Jada Taylor has suffered a season-ending injury and we wish her a speedy and successful recovery, however with a next-player-up mentality the team remains positive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings.
Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership
The Sharks Harvey Norman Women's Premiership team began their season in the weeks prior to the kick-off to the NRLW competition.
With injuries affecting both the Harvey Norman squad and NRLW team a number of Tarsha Gale players have debuted in the senior competition which will only benefit their development and the overall strength and depth of our women's program.
The team has recorded two wins from their opening five games.
Newtown – NSW Cup
To this point it has been a solid 2024 season for our NSW Cup partners the Newtown Jets who have handled numerous challenges with injuries to the top squad. On a positive note, the injury toll has provided opportunity for some of our young Jersey Flegg players to gain valuable experience in senior rugby league and all have acquitted themselves well.
The Jets are currently sitting in fourth position with four rounds of their competition remaining and we wish coach George Ndaira and all involved at Newtown the best of luck in the weeks to come.
Jersey Flegg
Numerous team changes due to injuries which have filtered down through the grades from our top squad have presented challenges along the way, however our Flegg Sharks have stood up and performed well. After a strong win over Souths we are still in the hunt for a Finals berth and with players starting to return from injury our boys will be fighting hard to finish in the top five. We wish Andrew Dallalana and his team all the best for the rest of the 2024 season.
Academy
Our 2024 Winter development program has concluded, with 300 male and female junior players given an opportunity to grow and develop their game.
A big thank you to Glenn Brailey, Bryce Gentle, Casey Bromilow, Jack Gould and a hard-working team of volunteers for helping to make this a successful program. Planning has begun for our Harold Matthews, SG Ball, Lisa Fiaola and Tarsha Gale teams for 2025, with trial matches scheduled, and I wish all those trying out the very best of luck.
Finally, I would like to wish all the local JRL teams the best and encourage them to enjoy the last two rounds and Finals matches to follow. And a big shout out to volunteers across all the clubs in the Cronulla junior league who help to get teams on the field each week.
