By Roy Masters
John “Singo” Singleton, a man so identifiable he is one of the few Australians known solely by his nickname, has withdrawn from a business case which linked his second-tier club, Newtown, with Perth in a bid to become the NRL’s 18th team.
In a cryptic text from the US where he is on yet another get-fit holiday, the iconic Sydney businessman said, “Mate, Newtown out of Perth bid. Too many games being played by Norths and WA government.”
Translation: the North Sydney Bears and the Western Australia government are using him and the Jets as a pawn in negotiating an outcome for their benefit.
Singleton made preliminary overtures to business figures aimed at establishing a $30 million investment group, but it appears he has consigned it to the too-hard basket.
Singo, a young 82, indicated he would prefer to avoid transcontinental travel every second week despite the lure of the team being called the Perth Jets.
“Better spending time in the sun at Henson,” he declared, sending photos of a big crowd on a recent beer festival day at the Jets’ home ground.
The crowd of “8972” celebrates another Newtown try at Henson Park.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“We must avoid our Biden time,” he added – a reference to the failing cognitive capacities of the US president, and the possibility of the pressure of part-owning an NRL club contributing to similar decline.
Still, sources close to the WA government insist a link between Perth and the Bears is no fait accompli, with the 1908 NSWRL foundation club believed to be aggressive in its demand for seats on the board, number of games at North Sydney Oval and capital injection.
A source close to the Bears who spoke on the condition of anonymity denies this, claiming it was a negotiating tactic to diminish their bid, which has been widely reported to have the backing of ARLC chair Peter V’landys.
“This thing moves at a mile a minute,” said a representative of the WA government, who listed three possible outcomes: Perth goes it alone; a Perth/Norths consortium wins or a change of heart by Singo resurrects a Perth/Jets coalition.
A man with an acute radar for duplicity, Singo has issues with the veracity of the numbers of junior players, level of financial backing and TV viewers being touted by both the WA government and their preferred owner, Peter Cummins of Cash Converters.
Singo also queries the size of the TV audience being spruiked in the west.
“These days they are called eyeballs,” he said. “Do you count them as two eyeballs or one?”
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