It is “business as usual” for the South Sydney Rabbitohs as the Club confirmed today that co-owner Russell Crowe has indicated that he will look to sell his share in the Club at the end of the 2013 season. Mr Crowe is a half owner in company Blackcourt League Investments Pty Limited, the company which owns a 75% share of the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club. 25% of the Club is owned by the South Sydney Members Rugby League Football Club, or ‘Member Co.’, which also controls the key elements of the Club such as its name, colours, logo and home ground. “This is a day to acknowledge everything Russell Crowe has done for the Club since he took up an official involvement in June 2006, and to show that the Club is in a very healthy position to continue its climb to the top of the NRL tree,” Rabbitohs Chairman Nicholas Pappas said. “Russell and Peter Holmes à Court have played an important role in re-establishing the foundations of this Club both on and off the field. While both our investors have been much less hands-on in the running of the Club since 2008, they have nonetheless provided strategic direction and, through their nominated directors, have kept a close eye on the Club’s strengthening performance. Russell has always said he wanted to help get the Club back to being one of the best run Clubs in the NRL and that goal has been achieved. “With the Club budgeting for its first ever seven-figure surplus in 2013, all without any external funding, there really is no better time from the Club’s point of view for Russell to make his decision to step away from an official capacity. We’re confident that Russell will remain a strong supporter of the Club from the end of next year and beyond, just as he was before 2006. Of course, there is a process that our investors need to follow should they decide to dispose of their interest, and we look forward to that process unfolding at the end of the 2013 season.” Rabbitohs CEO Shane Richardson echoed the comments of Mr Pappas. “We have all worked very hard to put the Club in the position it’s currently in, both on and off the field,” Mr Richardson said. “We have a strong roster of players, one of the leading young coaches in the game at the helm of our football program, the strongest Membership base in NSW in the NRL, a broad and valuable network of corporate partners, and a management team well placed to take us to the next level as a Club. “We finished one game short of a Grand Final appearance in 2012 and we are committed to doing everything we can to better that in 2013. We are aiming to increase our Membership from 22,000-plus last season to 25,000 Members for the new season, and we have top-shelf companies on all of our major corporate partnership properties for 2013. “We are in a very strong position, we have a loyal Membership base and the best corporate partners behind us. “It is business as usual.”