Canterbury Bulldogs chairman John Khoury set to be overthrown in board elections

The always volatile Canterbury Bulldogs board has claimed another scalp, with chairman John Khoury’s imminent departure creating further unwanted headlines ahead of the new season.

The Canterbury Bulldogs are facing an upheaval on the eve of the 2024 NRL premiership kick-off following the removal of chairman John Khoury in a boardroom coup.

Knowing the numbers were stacked against him, Khoury announced he was stepping aside on Friday afternoon after this masthead broke the news of his demise.

Khoury has been in charge at Belmore since 2020 when he took over from Lynne Anderson.

General manager of football Phil Gould and other directors had spoken to Khoury in regards to his position in recent weeks. They had the numbers to elect a new chairman.

Outgoing chairman John Khoury, club legend Josh Jackson and new chair Adam Driussi.

Businessman Adam Driussi, who Khoury put on the board 18 months ago, is now taking his job.

Driussi is close to Gould and chief executive Aaron Warburton.

The Bulldogs had hoped to hold off an announcement until their AGM on Sunday.

Gould had even used his close connections at Nine Entertainment to hold off the story.

There has been movement behind the scenes since before Christmas.

It was Khoury who also hired Gould three years ago and Warburton as chief executive.

Canterbury have long lacked stability in the boardroom.

This will be their fourth chair in six years following on from Ray Dib, Anderson and Khoury.

The boardroom bloodshed is a disappointing development for the Bulldogs after Thursday night’s super impressive trial match win over Melbourne Storm at Belmore.

Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton and John Khoury.

Bulldogs head of football, Phil Gould. Picture: Julian Andrews

It is a shame too for Khoury, who is a gentleman and one of the nicest men in the game.

Some say too nice and not strong enough to deal with boardroom politics that have cost him his job.

The reaction from members at Sunday’s AGM will be interesting because Khoury was such a popular figure around the club.

He is expected to stay on both the Leagues club and football club boards as a director.

As for chairman elect Driussi, he spent Friday afternoon dodging phone calls and text messages, furious that the story had been leaked.

He later told Nine newspapers: “John has done an outstanding job building a stable board where we are all close friends.”

Khoury also confirmed he was out: “I am very proud of what I achieved in my role as chair across all facets of the club.”

Originally published as Canterbury Bulldogs chairman John Khoury set to be overthrown in board elections