Collingwood president battle: Pies pull out of deadline to hand over membership details

Collingwood has missed a deadline in the latest twist of the fan-driven petition saga — and now the presidential fight could be headed for a court stoush.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley announces he is quitting as coach of the club.

Collingwood’s presidential fight could be headed to court after the Magpies failed to hand over membership details by Friday’s 5pm deadline.

Long-time member David Hatley said he would consider legal action under the Corporations Act if the Magpies did not provide the information required to cross-check the names on his petition to spill the board.

In a dramatic backdrop to Nathan Buckley’s last game as senior coach on Monday, Hatley asked the Magpies to come to the party on the membership details by 5pm Friday or face the prospect of legal action.

But the Magpies did not make contact with Hatley on Friday, which will prompt talks between Hatley and his associates across the weekend about their legal options.

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David Hatley has gained plenty of support in his petition for an EGM.

A court injunction would be a significant twist in the looming showdown between president Mark Korda and challenger Jeff Browne.

Hatley told News Corp on Friday the members would consider their legal options if the membership information was not supplied.

“We’ll contact our legal counsel to explore our legal options which may include a court injunction to produce the required information under the Corporations Act,” Hatley said.

It continues a tumultuous season for the Magpies which has included the departure of their president Eddie McGuire, coach Nathan Buckley and list manager Ned Guy.

Browne, who was the boss of Channel 9 and an influential lawyer, could provide Hatley some high-powered help behind the scenes in any court battle.

It remains to be seen whether Collingwood is attempting to simply delay Hatley or calling his bluff as the Pies begin their search for Buckley’s replacement for next season.

Hatley says he has more than 1500 signatures on the petition to spill the board at an extraordinary general meeting which would have to be held within two months of the paperwork being submitted.

He wants the membership details to ensure there are enough members required to trigger the EGM under the Magpies’ constitution. Hatley estimated he needed about 650 signatures.

Once the paperwork is in, the Magpies have 21 days to set a date for the EGM, and then another 40 days to conduct it.

The club would have to make public the details of the EGM including the time, location and candidates.

Eddie McGuire was widely condemned for his comments when the ‘Do Better’ report was announced. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Hatley wanted to meet with Korda before pulling the trigger on an EGM but Victoria’s latest COVID-19 lockdown over the past fortnight caused a delay.

McGuire has urged both parties to strike a peaceful deal in a bid to alleviate the need for an ugly EGM.

Korda says the club’s current board will not hand control to challenger Browne, setting the scene for a prolonged election campaign and fight for control of one of Australia’s biggest sporting clubs.

Browne wants to take over as president but it is unclear who he wants on his ticket.

Another group called ‘Collingwood Fans Care’ has emerged with an online petition calling for the club’s leadership to become more inclusive.

In an open letter, it said Browne should reveal his plans to tackle the ‘Do Better’ report, which was critical of the way the Magpies handled incidents of racism and led to McGuire standing down this year.

“The simple and troubling fact is that he (Browne) announced his run with no plan and no vision for ‘Do Better’, let alone any of the club’s other pressing matters,” the open letter said.

“His close affiliation to Mr (Eddie) McGuire suggests that a Browne presidency would not deliver the break from the McGuire era the club needs, to heal and progress.

“Racism is, and for the foreseeable future will be, Collingwood’s defining rot.

“Any would-be president or coach not only needs a plan for the future and the skills to pull it off, but also credibility in the field of racial reconciliation.”

Where was Korda? New twist in Pies’ board saga

Nathan Buckley’s sudden departure has pushed the battle for control of the Collingwood board in a new direction.

Magpies great Tony Shaw had implored the club to delay a call on Buckley’s future until the dispute between Pies president Mark Korda and his would-be replacement, Jeff Browne, was resolved.

But now it’s a race of a different kind and a potentially difficult decision for Browne and his yet-to-be-unveiled ticket has been made for them.

Korda’s conspicuous absence at Buckley’s farewell press conference on Wednesday was not lost on Browne’s rising ranks of supporters.

It was further evidence, one said, of the “disconnect” that has crippled Collingwood since last year’s trade debacle.

Buckley — one of the club’s greatest figures — was instead flanked by chief executive Mark Anderson and football boss Graham Wright, and it’s certainly hard to imagine Korda’s predecessor, Eddie McGuire, being absent from such a momentous occasion.

Oddly, Korda was photographed leaving the club after the press conference without having fronted the TV cameras.

The next step in the push for the staging of an extraordinary general meeting and a club election involves the verification of the signatures and membership details collected by long-time Collingwood member David Hatley.

The club wants to use its own auditor to determine their validity, a request Hatley is expected to approve.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley announces he is quitting as coach of the club.

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Hatley has agreed to meet with Korda before pulling the trigger on an EGM but all signs now point to a full-blown board election by August or early September.

Browne had offered no public view on Buckley because he wanted to get in and take a look under the bonnet himself, but surely any big-name suitor for the Magpies coaching job will want to know who the long-term president is before committing to the club?

A five-person panel will be formed to oversee the process of selecting Buckley’s successor made up of football director Paul Licuria, board member Peter Murphy, Wright, Anderson and “an experienced football person” who is yet to be appointed.

And as the presidential stoush heats up, expect to see the Browne camp portray Buckley as yet another fall guy of a board that lost its way and oversaw the serious mismanagement of the salary cap.

WHEN WILL PIES’ PRESIDENTIAL SHOWDOWN HAPPEN?

Collingwood’s bitter boardroom brawl looks set to drag on until September.

A petition for a spill of the board led by Magpies’ member David Hatley could take several more weeks to resolve before a wait of up to two months for an election.

Hatley confirmed on Monday his group was seeking access to official membership details from the club to crosscheck against signatures it has collected from disgruntled fans in recent weeks.

Once Hatley’s group is satisfied it has the required numbers to trigger an extraordinary general meeting (believed to be about 650), the club will have 21 days to respond to a formal EGM notice.

The election then needs to be held within the next 40 days.

It means that Collingwood’s first EGM in more than two decades must be held within two months of Hatley submitting the paperwork.

The club would have to announce the details of the EGM including location and candidates.

Only about 13,000 Collingwood members, made up of “life members, ordinary members and pensioner members” will be eligible to vote in what will be a presidential showdown between Pies’ president Mark Korda and former Channel 9 boss Jeff Browne.

Hatley has agreed to meet Korda before pulling the trigger on an EGM but Victoria’s latest COVID-19 lockdown has caused a delay.

Korda says the club’s current board will not hand control to challenger Browne, setting the scene for a prolonged election campaign and fight for control of one of Australia’s biggest sporting clubs.

While Buckley was firmly in Korda’s corner on Saturday, the senior coach said on Monday night the boardroom battle was not something he had spent much time weighing up.

“I didn’t give it a lot of thought, to be honest. It’s just an opinion I hold,” Buckley said on Fox Footy.

“In the end, my job as senior coach is to look after the team first and foremost and the staff around that team and try and get the job done week in week out.

“My challenge is eyes down in that regard rather than up, in the literal sense.”

Browne, 66, will go to the polls arguing that it is Korda who is seeking to deny the club’s paid-up members the right to vote on the future direction of the club.

But Korda is adamant the club is in good hands and said it will “stand against coups driven by personal ambition” and “an agenda of power and privilege”.

Browne, a former long-time AFL legal adviser, is yet to disclose the identity of his six running partners but powerful player agent Craig Kelly will not be among them.

Former Magpies’ great Peter Moore, who is the father of star defender Darcy, has also supported Browne.

Kelly has publicly endorsed Browne but has too many industry conflicts (including his role as manager of coach Nathan Buckley) to seriously consider an involvement.

Buckley, in contrast to his agent, declared on Friday that he believed the current board had the right people to take the club forward.

Powerful player agent Craig Kelly is not among Jeff Browne’s running partners.

“It’s something that happens above my head and obviously it’s topical right here, right now with the advent of more conversations coming out in the open,” Buckley said.

“But I believe that most of those people have Collingwood’s best interests at heart.

“What I would say and for what it’s worth, I actually believe there has been a whole heap of change to this football club over the last three or four years in particular.

“I think we’re a much better organisation across those years and I believe the people that are on the current board have had no small part in that progress.”

Originally published as Collingwood president battle: Pies pull out of deadline to hand over membership details