Leigh Matthews isn’t backing down on his quest to overthrow the Brisbane Lions board after labelling legal advice blocking his own candidacy as “incomprehensible”.
A bemused Matthews has confirmed he’ll continue as part of the rival board ticket, led by rebel directors Paul Williams and Mick Power, despite lawyers ruling he was ineligible to run for election.
The Lions on Tuesday night revealed that under the club’s constitution only full members with two years’ continuous membership could be appointed at a general meeting and Matthews and Fitzroy great Ross Thornton, as life members, didn’t meet the criteria.
But the man who coached the Lions to their 2001-03 premierships scoffed at the ruling and remains as determined as ever to bring down chairman Angus Johnson and the current board.
“I still intend to seek change to the current board and be on the new board,” Matthews told AAP on Wednesday.
“I guess (the legal advice) has been a little bit embarrassing (to the club) … because what we have found out seems incomprehensible.
“I’m sure a lot of life members took a lot of interest in that ruling.
“Anyway they’re obstacles we have to work through.”
Johnson and fellow directors Cameron Milner, Linda Nash and Peter McGregor have been under immense pressure since the board unanimously axed club favourite Michael Voss as coach with three rounds to play in August as they unsuccessfully chased Paul Roos.
Johnson had previously attempted to convince Matthews to assist as a board-appointed director but the Hawthorn great and player of the 20th century has instead boosted the Williams-Power ticket.
Tuesday’s four-hour board meeting failed to see a date set down, as expected, for an emergency general meeting for an upcoming members’ vote.
Matthews now appears unlikely to stand at the EGM but he said the board had the power to ensure life members held the same rights as full members so they could run for election.
“It could have happened yesterday but the majority of the board, which are fighting the challenge, don’t want to do it because it prevents me challenging,” he said.
Matthews would not comment about other club matters amid reports the AFL has seized control of a club which is relying heavily on league funding.
The Lions have named local businessman Bob Sharpless as a new director with the support of the AFL.
The deputy chairman of the Springfield Land Corporation, Sharpless’s special appointment comes after the Federal Government declared it would not help fund the club’s relocation to Springfield, west of Brisbane.
The previous Labor Government had pledged $15 million to the project as a pre-election promise but a contract was never signed.