Phoenix in merger talks – report
been dancing jigs into the sheds with a 14-8 halftime lead hardly reflecting a first 40 where they had 60 percent of the possession, the lion’s share of the opportunities and turned down a handful of handy three-pointers.
But despite conceding a 9-4 penalty count against them, the Blues’ defence rallied well to limit the damage to two tries, and stayed in the contest. For the time being.
The visitors, who hadn’t lost in Auckland since 2014, led 7-0 inside five minutes with the most regulation of lineout-drive options finished with ease by hooker Riccitelli.
But the floodgates never opened, and by the 26th minute the home side had taken the lead, 8-7, via a Stephen Perofeta penalty and a piece of Sonny Bill Williams offloading magic finished by young centre Orbyn Leger.
Six minutes later the Canes retook the lead, again via penalty pressure, when quick-thinking No 8 Evans took an opportune tap and caught the Blues defenders with their backs turned.
The Blues took the lead early in the second spell when Ofa Tu’ungafasi drove over to put his side 15-14 to the good, but from then on it was all the Canes as they finished with a wet sail.
Milner-Skudder showed beautiful footwork down the left touchline to dance inside and over in Rieko Ioane’s tackle for the 21-15 lead at the 53-minute mark, Sam Lousi finished the chance opened by Evans’ lineout steal soon after and when Matt Proctor finished a splendid late score, via some Barrett brother magic and the Ardie Savea try assist, the victory was sealed with a bonus point. The owners of Wellington Phoenix are considering selling half the club to a consortium from southwestern Sydney in an unprecedented A-League merger proposal.
Football Federation Australia CEO David Gallop confirmed he held a meeting yesterday with Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison and Gino Marra, head of the South West Sydney FC expansion bid.
News Corp Australia reports a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the two parties.
While requiring approval from FFA to move forward, under the hybrid model, the team’s training base would shift to Sydney’s southwest with some home games moved to Campbelltown Stadium.
The team would play in black and white, but would revert to the yellow and black Phoenix strip for matches in Wellington.
It’s believed FFA looks dimly at the prospect of a merger, particularly one splitting the club’s supporter base on opposite sides of the Tasman.
‘‘The proposal, which would obviously require FFA approval, needs to be considered in the context of the commercial objectives around the expansion of the league which are to ensure that the investments made are ones that benefit the new clubs, the A-League as a whole, its current club owners and the broader game,’’ Gallop said.
The report claims the prospect of a 50 per cent sale hinges on two legal factors: whether the Phoenix’s licence is territorial, and if a sale of 50 per cent or below can be blocked by FFA.
It follows weeks of rumours about the future of the Wellington club, whose A-League licence expires at the end of season 2019-20.
With no hope of reaching the ‘metrics’ required to trigger an extension, as per the agreement signed two years ago with FFA, a sale would allow Phoenix owners to at least pocket some money before the club is shuttered.
Morrison has refuted claims in recent weeks that he wants to sell the club. ‘‘We’d be silly not to talk to people but that doesn’t mean we’re selling,’’ he said last month.
Comment was being sought from the Phoenix, but the club tweeted in response to the initial News Corp story: ‘‘The club once again will refuse to speculate on speculation.’’