Mike Cannon-Brookes buys in to the Rabbitohs dream

Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has signed on as co-owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs with Russell Crowe and James Packer.

Mike Cannon-Brookes says he feels ‘super-excited, super-pumped’. Picture: Toby Zerna

Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has signed on as co-owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a move that could push the NRL club to being the most powerful in the country.

The tech billionaire’s investment in the club will see him acquire a portion of holdings from movie star Russell Crowe and ­casino titan James Packer.

Cody Walker plays the Rabbitohs in the NRL grand final last month. Picture: Getty Images

The three men will each own a quarter of the foundation club; the remaining 25 per cent will be held by the members.

“I feel super-excited, super-pumped,” Mr Cannon-Brookes told The Daily Telegraph.

“And a sense of responsibility — it’s a bit daunting. The responsibility to keep growing the legacy. It’s such a famous legacy club, it’s such an amazing story, it’s about continuing to write the next ­couple of chapters — or help write the next couple of chapters.”

Just a year ago, Mr Cannon-Brookes became the first Australian to own an NBA team after he took on a minority stake in the Utah Jazz.

“Hopefully I can bridge some connections (in the US) to see how other clubs and leagues run and there’s probably some lessons to be learned on how that can help bring better experiences to the members,” he said.

“It’s one thing to have a really great legacy culture – ‘the oldest, proudest, loudest’ is written ­pretty deeply into people’s ­psyches – but it also comes with a sense of that culture continuing to improve.”

Crowe and Mr Cannon-Brookes had reportedly been in secret talks over the deal for a year. “This is a very strong move for the club,” Crowe said.

“It connects us to the front edge of emerging technologies and business, and underlines the importance of our efforts in the community.”

Actor Russell Crowe was reportedly in talks with Cannon Brookes for more than a year. Picture: Nathan Edwards