NRL appoints Cardinal Pell’s lawyer to investigate NSWRL board election

The NRL has appointed one of the country’s pre-eminent lawyers to spearhead a probe into the NSW Rugby League.

The Herald can reveal leading silk Bret Walker, SC, has been tasked with investigating the NSWRL following the boardroom brawl that threatens to tear the state organisation apart. Long-time chairman George Peponis and director Nick Politis resigned following an annual general meeting last Friday due to a raft of issues, including the controversial decision not to allow Cronulla chief executive Dino Mezzatesta to stand for a place on the board.

Bret Walker, SC, will investigate the NSWRL after a boardroom stoush.Credit:Andrew Meares

ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys has vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into the state body and made good on his word by tasking Walker to conduct the investigation. The NRL has informed its 16 clubs of the development.

In a mark of Walker’s standing, he made 35 appearances in the High Court of Australia last year – more than twice as many as the next busiest SC.

Walker, whose client list includes Cardinal George Pell, can charge up to $25,000 a day. The legal eagle, who was made an officer of the Order of Australia last year, represented former prime minister Kevin Rudd in the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program and was also a leading counsel in the tobacco companies’ ultimately unsuccessful fight against the Gillard government’s plain-packaging laws. The Finks Motorcycle Club is also a previous client.

Complaints about the election process have been submitted to the NRL which, if upheld, could result in last week’s AGM being ruled null and void.

An injection of $40 million to boost grassroots participation – on top of the $20 million the NSWRL already receives from the NRL per annum – that was slated for the state bodies could instead be redirected to NRL clubs pending the outcome of the investigation.

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