Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo had dinner with Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes in Perth on Wednesday night as part of their hit-and-run mission to announce the NRL’s newest franchise.
The Australian Rugby League Commission and NRL chief executive met with Stokes in Perth on the eve of the joint announcement of the Bears alongside Western Australia Premier, Roger Cook.
Sources with knowledge of the meeting, talking on the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality, told this masthead that Stokes was complimentary towards the NRL despite his organisation, the free-to-air broadcast partner of the AFL, making life difficult for them as they attempted to start up the new franchise.
The NRL is also privately confident Seven West Media will be at the table when they kick off broadcast rights negotiations for 2028 and beyond in the coming months.
When contacted by the Herald to clarify the purpose of the meeting, V’landys said: “It’s nothing unusual meeting with Kerry. He’s been a friend and an acquaintance of mine for many years.”
V’landys has a long-standing association with Stokes from his work with Racing NSW, but Stokes’ media empire has been at loggerheads with the V’landys and Abdo-run NRL due to conflicting interests.
WA Premier Roger Cook, Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter V’landys and National Rugby League chief executive Andrew Abdo officially announce the Perth Bears will join the NRL on Thursday.Credit: Getty Images
The West Australian, the newspaper owned by Stokes’ Seven West Media, ran a front page of the Bears logo with the headline “The bad news Bears” on the day the team was officially unveiled.
“Rugby mad Roger Cook forces WA taxpayers to pay Sydney NRL rejects $65m to play in Perth,” the subhead on the story said.
Seven West Media has a stranglehold on the media in Western Australia through Channel Seven and the city’s only major newspaper.
The NRL and WA government have met plenty of resistance throughout their campaign to introduce an NRL team, prompting a retaliation from V’landys at the official announcement of the Bears on Thursday.
Kerry Stokes at the 2024 AFL Grand Final in the MCG Olympic room.Credit: AFL photos/Wayne Taylor
“I think the media coverage has been a bit biased,” the ARLC chairman said.
“The main newspaper here is owned by Seven West Media, that has the AFL rights. Let’s be quite frank, they don’t want us to be here, because they realise we’re going to be competitive and we’re going to take some of their lunch – and we eat a lot.
“I don’t see McDonald’s checking with Kentucky Fried Chicken when they’re opening a new store,” he said. “We certainly have not consulted with the AFL, and they don’t consult with us.”
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