NSW Rugby League directors want to move on from last year's war with the NRL, with Sydney Roosters CEO Joe Kelly emerging as a potential bridge between the two paries.
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Kelly was voted onto the NSWRL board on Friday, with the annual general meeting far calmer than last year's, when powerbrokers Nick Politis and George Pepoinis quit in anger.
Kelly has replaced Geoff Gerard to be the one new face on the board, joining Kevin Greene as one of two metropolitan directors alongside country counterparts John Anderson and Bob Walsh.
The board will meet again on Monday afternoon to determine the two expert directors, before a new chairman is also appointed from outside the group this week.
It comes after the furore following Cronulla CEO Dino Mezzatesta being denied the right to run at last year's election due to a perceived conflict of interest.
That prompted a civil war between the NRL and NSWRL, with the ARL Commission pulling funding from the state body and demanding the election be re-run.
The matter reached the NSW Supreme Court and an unsuccessful appeal launched by the ARLC, where the court ruled that while Mezzatesta should have been able to run the election was constitutionally binding.
Board members were also forced to survive a November push from two Sydney clubs for the majority of directors to be dissolved at an emergency meeting.
But the group now want the drama to be history.
Multiple NSWRL directors have told AAP they are keen for the relationship with the NRL to be mended, with dealings between the two parties crucial for the game in NSW.
They also hope Kelly can assist in thawing the tension with the NRL, given his role as a club CEO and relationship with the governing body.
Kelly is also keen on finding unity, clear in his desire for last year's issues to be left in the past.
"I am really looking forward to working with my fellow board members and management and staff at NSWRL and assisting where possible to align all our interests to focus on growing Rugby League in NSW," Kelly said.
AAP has also been told the leading candidate for the chairman role is also a high-powered option with strong links to the NRL, having worked with head office in the past.
That also has the potential to help the relationship, after last year's dramas left the NSWRL threatened with the control of the state's State of Origin team being taken away from them.
Australian Associated Press
