Some Kudos for the Bulldogs - By Mary

As a Parramatta fan it is almost in my blood to absolutely despise the Canterbury Bulldogs as a football team. These two clubs have history - many NRL supporters will remember the fierce battles and rivalry between these two teams in the early eighties featuring icons like Ray Price, Mick Cronin, Brett Kenny, Garry Hughes and Terry Lamb. These were known as the glory days and these battles set the scene for a rivalry which still prevails to this day.

This era was before my time but my first year as a supporter of the Parramatta Eels was in 1998. I was 8 years old and my favourite player was Clinton Schifcofske. When Parramatta were leading Canterbury with 18-2 with ten minutes ago, playing for a Grand Final position, I thought that we were home. This was until one of the most amazing (yet heartbreaking for me) comebacks of all time occurred. Following crucial errors by Paul Carige, entry into extra time following a perfect Daryl Halligan kick and a try in the corner to Willie Talau, my team was out of the finals race and my hatred for the Bulldogs was born.

Over the years the Bulldogs were a very easy team to hate. As a Parramatta supporter I would always begrudge their success in the 1998 finals series. Also, following a series of controversies around sexual assault in 2004, the Bulldogs cemented their position as my most hated club in the NRL.

It was in 2012 that my attitude toward this team began to change. This largely had to do with Todd Greenberg and what I saw as tremendous work by him in working with the Bulldogs to change their culture and the way they were perceived in public. This involved the Bulldogs becoming a Club where players wanted to come, where successful coaches have wanted to come and working towards developing a culture as far away from the Coffs Harbour scandals as possible, culminating in some very successful seasons on the field.

When Todd Greenberg announced his resignation from the position of CEO of the Bulldogs earlier this year there was significant speculation about who would be his replacement.

I could not have been more delighted when I heard who the Bulldogs would be replacing Greenberg with.

Raelene Castle became the first female CEO of an NRL club for 15 years. Prior to her appointment she was the head of Netball New Zealand for 6 years and clearly has experience in sports management, business and the particular expertise needed to run a sporting club.

This appointment is not about women being placed in high positions just for the sake of it. This appointment was about recognising that there are women out there, highly qualified, professional and perfectly suited to many of the NRL's highest positions. According to the NRL, 41 per cent of the game's NRL club financial members are female and 45 per cent of NRL fans are women with the Panthers, Eels, Knights , Cowboys and Titans having more female than male fans. Yet women continue to be unrepresented at board level, at our clubs and in the NRL decision making process.

It's time for this to change and it's time for women to be included in the processes and decision making which impact a sport which so many of them love. I was tremendously proud of the Bulldogs when they made this appointment and am delighted to see a strong and powerful woman leading the Bulldogs into the future. I hope that Raelene can be an inspiration to other women who want to make a difference in the world of NRL.

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague