Seeya Later Gladiator

Russell Crowe watching on next to John Sutton

Russell Crowe is selling his shares in the Rabbitohs. That one sentence is enough to create a big news story and also send panic through a large section of Rabbitohs fans. Some are angry at him, some are worried about the future and some are saying ‘I told you so’ about selling the club to him in the first place.

What I want everyone to do is calm down and realise that Russell Crowe is not the be all and end all of the club and he would be the first person to tell you that. This change, whilst obviously a big deal, isn’t as big a deal as people seem to be thinking it is.

There is a lot yet to occur and we can’t be totally sure what the future ownership structure of the club will look like, but no matter what happens the club is both protected and self sufficient enough to handle it.

First of all, no matter who Crowe sells his shares to (and Holmes a Court if he sells too for that matter) and no matter what percentage of the club they own, they cannot make decisions such as turning the Rabbitohs into the Perth Pirates. The 25% of the club the members still own hold the veto rights on all decisions involving the name, colours, logo and location of the club. The club can move stadiums within the “Sydney basin” but can’t actually move away. Also people seem to jump to some sort of conclusion that Crowe is simply going to sell to the highest bidder, which is likely going to be some movie villain, Gordon Gecko style corporate raider who comes in and destroys the club. Whether or not this new owner is stroking a white cat in a swivel chair at the time I’m not sure.

Second of all, there is a chance that either the members or Souths Juniors will end up owning the club. Obviously this would require the members finding the funds to pay whatever the club ends up being valued at or the Juniors affording it, but it is an option that could occur, however I get the feeling it is most likely the club will remain in private ownership.

Here’s the thing people need to realise about 2012 Souths compared to 2006 Souths. In 2006 the club needed Russell Crowe and more specifically the money he was willing to put into the club, not just in terms of the purchase price, but also all the money he put in to keep the place going. But in 2012, thanks to that money and the hard work of people on and off the field the club is actually self sufficient. In 2013 - the last of Crowe’s ownership - the club will either turn a profit, or at least break even and therefore who actually owns the club won’t matter. The NRL grant to clubs is increasing significantly and is actually going to be higher than the salary cap, which means the NRL grant should fund most of the costs of the club in general. Add onto that the fact that Souths have the highest membership and sponsorship revenue in the NRL, or at least of the Sydney clubs, the club is in a position to run itself without having an owner as emotionally invested as Crowe.

Contrast this to the situation in Newcastle where Nathan Tinkler’s demise is putting the Knights in danger. But the Knights are in the position the Rabbitohs were in six years ago when Crowe bought the team, not the position the Rabbitohs are in now. The Knights are not self sufficient as their own entity and without money coming in from ownership, they were always going to be in trouble. This difference is why we should be thanking Russell Crowe for what he did and appreciate that now is the time for him to move on and deal with his personal life.

So yes, there is a chance the club will be bought by someone “outside the family” who sees it as a way to get into the high life of owning a sports team and potentially as a smart investment now that the business is actually viable. But in this day and age people need to appreciate that sports teams are just that... businesses. It is in the interests for the new owner that the club continues on the path it is on both on and off the field and whether they are a fan of the club or not won’t matter.

Finally, this issue seems to be bringing out a lot of the in-fighting between the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps from the original vote to sell the club in the first place. We really should be past this. ‘No’ voters should clearly be able to see that the club is in a much better position than it was when we voted and appreciate that this wouldn’t be the case without the course of action we took. ‘Yes’ voters need to move on from the George Piggins hate and realise that entire thing is now just a chapter of the past. In fact the media as a whole need to stop going to George every time they want a quote on Souths. I understand the man did a lot and was a big piece of the club’s history, but you don’t see past administrators of other sports teams being interviewed constantly, no matter how influential they were once upon a time.

It’s time to put that entire thing to bed and appreciate the fact that we support a club that is highly competitive both on and off the field and the future is bright, with or without a movie star leading the way.