BY JOHN DAVIDSON
EVERY morning my ritual is the same, and probably similar to many others in this smartphone-dominated world of 2019.
After opening my eyes and waking up, I reach out for my phone to check the time and find out the latest news.
I scroll through Twitter, Facebook, Gmail and Apple News to quickly catch up on what is happening around the world, and check my emails and messages. One of the roles, or pains depending on your perspective, of being a journalist is trying to be across anything and everything in your sphere of interest. You have to try and be knowledgable and across as much as possible to stay informed and up to date.
And so on early on Wednesday morning I came across a Daily Telegraph story that piqued my interest. With the headline of ‘Manly’s $20m American dream’, it certainly caught my eye.
The story went on to explain how Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) CEO Nigel Wood had been a guest of Manly owner Scott Penn for the NRL game against the Bulldogs last weekend at Brookvale Oval.
It said Wood would help Penn contact the people behind the bid to set up a new club in New York. The story contained a few errors, like stating “the plan would be for New York to enter the English Super League competition”. League 1 actually, but yes eventually to earn promotion into the top flight.
It also claimed Penn wanted to stage an NRL game in New York between the Sea Eagles and South Sydney. The Manly boss was quoted as being interested in having the New York club team act as a feeder club for the Sea Eagles, possibly calling it the New York Sea Eagles, and being a part-owner.
Suffice to say, this yarn raised a few questions as I headed for breakfast.
Firstly, what is Wood doing out there trying to attract investors in New York? He is no longer chief executive of the RFL, as he was kicked out of that role in January 2018 by Super League club owners because they were unhappy with the job he was doing.
New York’s bid to join the RFL tier of competitions – and at this stage that is all it is, a bid, as it has not been approved or rejected yet – has nothing to do with the RLIF. Nothing what so ever. It’s purely an English matter.
So why is Wood getting involved?
It is down to the RFL Board to decide on New York, and Ottawa too, and this decision should have nothing to do with Wood.
Maybe he has forgotten that he is no longer running English rugby league? Surely he should be focusing on other pressing international matters, like finding a host for the 2025 World Cup?
It is curious to say the least, and dubious at worst.
After reading this story I contacted Ricky Wibly, the CEO of the New York bid team. He confirmed he has had not been in touch with Wood or directed him to try and drum up new investors for New York down under.
As I understand it, New York are interested in possible new investors joining their consortium, but wouldn’t be just handing Manly the reins. There’s no way they will be called the New York Sea Eagles.
The whole thing is quite odd.
Wood is the man who was of course sent to the Big Apple in early 2018 by the RFL to write a feasibility report to check out the specifics of the bid. He went on an all-expenses paid trip to New York to look into whether it was possible.
As I wrote in a column for Everything Rugby League on December 19, 2018, it took Wood around a year to eventually file this report. You can read that column here.
For more than 12 months the New York bid team was left waiting in the wings.
They still have not seen Wood’s report. Wilby told me he is aware that Wood wrote a report, but the New York group has never seen a copy of it, which is even stranger.
It was also odd that Wood, no longer working for the RFL, was the man sent out to the American city in the first place.
Surely his involvement is a conflict of interest that could have been easily avoided. Surely his close relationship and friendship with Toronto founder Eric Perez, the man behind the Ottawa bid, should have no impact on Ottawa’s attempt to get the green light from the RFL and set up the Hemel license in Canada.
Unfortunately in rugby league, this is the kind of stuff that pops up all the time. It’s the sort of occurrences that look dodgy, however innocent they may actually be, from the outside. Perception is often reality.
Many in the sport see Wood as still pulling strings at the RFL. His relationship with Bradford owner Andrew Chalmers, his regular appearances at Odsal, add fuel to the conspiracy theorists.
It’s quite possible that Wood was only acting in the best interests of rugby league and genuinely trying to help the New York group. He may have been doing it out of the goodness of his heart, his time at Brookvale a completely innocent meeting and great things may come of a partnership between Manly and New York.
Just getting Hollywood actor and Sea Eagles fan Hugh Jackman at a few games in the Big Apple would be a good start.
But part of journalism is asking questions and not taking things for face value. You question everything. You query oddities and seek explanations. You check things to see if they past muster.
Considering Wood’s controversial tenure in charge of the English game, and the fact that he left the RFL with the governing body suffering more than £2 million in losses in 2017, it would be remiss not to question things.
So why just is Wood out in Sydney championing New York?
I’d love to know.
