Canterbury under scrutiny in Liquor and Gaming NSW investigation
By Chris Barrett
October 16, 2020 — 8.30am
The turmoil that has engulfed Canterbury over the past six weeks has drawn the attention of the state’s powerful liquor and gaming industry watchdog, which has sent investigators to the league club at Belmore and examined its links with the Bulldogs football club.
News of the investigation comes a month after long-time Bulldogs powerbroker George Coorey was removed as Canterbury League Club chairman by his fellow directors after allegations of lewd behaviour made by several women.
The political instability subsequently swept into the Bulldogs NRL club, with chair Lynne Anderson and board members Paul Dunn and John Ballesty falling on their swords last week after members gathered signatures in a bid to unseat them at an emergency board meeting.
A spokesperson for Liquor and Gaming NSW would not comment on the nature of its investigation but sources with knowledge of the situation indicated the Coorey affair was central to the probe.
"Liquor and Gaming NSW investigators attended Canterbury League Club on Thursday 8 October to make enquiries as part of an investigation," the spokesperson said. "As the investigation is ongoing, no further comment can be made."
Sources said the Bulldogs had also been contacted by investigators interested in the relationship between the NRL club and the nearby licensed venue, which has long been a major backer of the football side. The two entities are linked because the football club is the controlling entity of the league club, endorsing four of the seven directors. Former Canterbury premiership winner Dunn remains Coorey's successor as league club president despite standing down from the Bulldogs board.
Contacted by the Herald, league club chief executive Greg Pickering said: "I don’t believe it is in Canterbury League Club’s interest for me to make comment about the activities of Liquor and Gaming in relation to the club."
Coorey strongly denies the claims against him and his backers argue his removal as president at a board meeting last month was not permitted under the club’s constitution. The women who have made complaints about him did not provide statements to an initial investigation by the Barrington Group but indicated last month they were willing to assist another investigation the league club board said it would commission.
Amid the continuing drama at Belmore, billionaire publican Arthur Laundy on Thursday re-affirmed his intention to formally have his family company sign on as the NRL team’s major sponsor for the next two years.
The 79-year-old businessman on Tuesday bought the remaining four members of the Bulldogs football club board lunch at the Red Lion Hotel in Rozelle, which is owned by his daughter, and outlined his only sticking point for backing Canterbury to the tune of a reported $500,000 a season. Laundy told new club chairman John Khoury and directors Peter Mortimer, Adrian Turner and Joe Thomas that he simply wanted to be a mentor for the club’s players.
"I'm not going to do a runner. All I’ve said is I want to be part of the team," Laundy said. "[Bulldogs CEO] Andrew Hill is all for it, [incoming head coach] Trent Barrett is all for it. Once they’ve got the other three [board members] sorted out I’ll be meeting with them. I want to be the mentor of those players because too many of them at the end of the football career have wasted their money. If any member of the committee is not happy about that I’m wasting my time. I don’t think they would but if they ruled ‘that’s not part of your agenda’, I’d have to finish."
By Chris Barrett
October 16, 2020 — 8.30am
The turmoil that has engulfed Canterbury over the past six weeks has drawn the attention of the state’s powerful liquor and gaming industry watchdog, which has sent investigators to the league club at Belmore and examined its links with the Bulldogs football club.
News of the investigation comes a month after long-time Bulldogs powerbroker George Coorey was removed as Canterbury League Club chairman by his fellow directors after allegations of lewd behaviour made by several women.
The political instability subsequently swept into the Bulldogs NRL club, with chair Lynne Anderson and board members Paul Dunn and John Ballesty falling on their swords last week after members gathered signatures in a bid to unseat them at an emergency board meeting.
A spokesperson for Liquor and Gaming NSW would not comment on the nature of its investigation but sources with knowledge of the situation indicated the Coorey affair was central to the probe.
"Liquor and Gaming NSW investigators attended Canterbury League Club on Thursday 8 October to make enquiries as part of an investigation," the spokesperson said. "As the investigation is ongoing, no further comment can be made."
Sources said the Bulldogs had also been contacted by investigators interested in the relationship between the NRL club and the nearby licensed venue, which has long been a major backer of the football side. The two entities are linked because the football club is the controlling entity of the league club, endorsing four of the seven directors. Former Canterbury premiership winner Dunn remains Coorey's successor as league club president despite standing down from the Bulldogs board.
Contacted by the Herald, league club chief executive Greg Pickering said: "I don’t believe it is in Canterbury League Club’s interest for me to make comment about the activities of Liquor and Gaming in relation to the club."
Coorey strongly denies the claims against him and his backers argue his removal as president at a board meeting last month was not permitted under the club’s constitution. The women who have made complaints about him did not provide statements to an initial investigation by the Barrington Group but indicated last month they were willing to assist another investigation the league club board said it would commission.
Amid the continuing drama at Belmore, billionaire publican Arthur Laundy on Thursday re-affirmed his intention to formally have his family company sign on as the NRL team’s major sponsor for the next two years.
The 79-year-old businessman on Tuesday bought the remaining four members of the Bulldogs football club board lunch at the Red Lion Hotel in Rozelle, which is owned by his daughter, and outlined his only sticking point for backing Canterbury to the tune of a reported $500,000 a season. Laundy told new club chairman John Khoury and directors Peter Mortimer, Adrian Turner and Joe Thomas that he simply wanted to be a mentor for the club’s players.
"I'm not going to do a runner. All I’ve said is I want to be part of the team," Laundy said. "[Bulldogs CEO] Andrew Hill is all for it, [incoming head coach] Trent Barrett is all for it. Once they’ve got the other three [board members] sorted out I’ll be meeting with them. I want to be the mentor of those players because too many of them at the end of the football career have wasted their money. If any member of the committee is not happy about that I’m wasting my time. I don’t think they would but if they ruled ‘that’s not part of your agenda’, I’d have to finish."