Now’s a good time to go, Scurrah says
Chief of 9 years says now Warriors’ house is in order, he can leave
After nine years in charge at the Warriors, chief executive Wayne Scurrah believes the time is right for both him and the club to move in different directions.
He announced yesterday that he would leave at the end of the year. NRL chief operating officer and former New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Jim Doyle will replace him.
Scurrah is looking forward to exploring “other opportunities”.
“I thought it was time for me and I think it’s a good time for the club as well, after having someone in the role for so long. It’s something that’s been on the cards for probably over a year . . . Last year I spoke to Bill Wavish, our chairman, and said I just wanted [ my two-year contract] for another year.
“I confirmed that earlier in the year, and with all the stuff that was going on at that time, with Matt [Elliott] and also the owners, we wanted to make sure we had a great succession plan and Jim was top of the list. He accepted about a month ago and we were just working on the timing.”
Scurrah’s decision came as a surprise, after he announced earlier this year that he would resign if the Warriors failed to qualify for the 2014 NRL finals series. That declaration followed former coach Elliott’s controversial departure in April, after a disappointing start to the season in which the side lost three of their opening five encounters.
Since then the Warriors have found form under new coach Andrew McFadden, winning four of their last seven matches. They now sit two points outside the top eight
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news in 12th position. “I hadn’t fully confirmed exactly that I was going to resign but, as Eric [Watson] said at that point, I offered my resignation the year before when the team didn’t make the eight, and certainly I wasn’t going to hang around for sure if we didn’t do it again.
“This is not a job that I think is healthy for the person or the club to do forever. I felt no more than 10 years but I’ve got to a point now in my life where I want to look at some other opportunities.”
Scurrah believed he needed to sort through a “to-do list” before departing, with McFadden’s appointment, the re-signing of captain Simon Mannering and finalising Mt Smart Stadium as the club’s home ground among his chief concerns.
“It was really important for me and for the club to make sure we had everything else in order and ideally some improved NRL results, which we’ve got.”
He says he has had few misgivings during his time at the club. “There’s only one thing in my time at the club that I really regret and that’s losing Sonny Fai. But everything else is part of the job and you cop the good with the bad.”