‘I love the Sharks’: From boyhood fan to Cronulla’s billionaire backer

Ocean Protect Stadium, with a capacity of 15,000, is the smallest in the NRL, prompting league officials to shift their home semi-final against the Cowboys to Moore Park.

The facilities there are also severely outdated, while the redevelopment of the adjacent leagues club has faced years-long delays.

In Cronulla’s favour is that they own the stadium and adjacent leagues club land. However, while they once counted a sitting prime minister, Scott Morrison, as their No.1 ticket holder, they have been unable to secure government funding for an upgrade to the venue or for a training centre of excellence as other clubs have.

“I think that they’ve done, frankly, a really nice job at navigating the circumstances they’re in,” Dorrell said.

“It’s tough when you don’t have a proper leagues club, obviously, so I think Dino’s done a really nice job, without a whole lot of money, of putting that club on a good financial footing while keeping the team operating really well.

“I have spent enough time around the organisation that I know the culture there is top-notch. I’m a big observer of culture of organisations and I’ve gone and visited the club and met the various folks around Dino that help him manage the club.”

As for the football side itself, he said: “I don’t know all the footy players real well, but I’ve spent some time around them and I feel a lot of love amongst the team there, which I admire a lot.

“I feel like it’s a close-knit team and I think Fitzy is a really good coach for that. He doesn’t get real emotional. I’ve seen him react to some losses [calmly] where I would struggle to restrain my emotions a little bit. He doesn’t lash out.”

Usually even-tempered, Fitzgibbon did lose his cool last month, punching a computer monitor in the coach’s box during a defeat to Parramatta.

The rare outburst brought a smile to Dorrell’s face.

“I love to see it,” he said. “I think it was great. He doesn’t criticise people. I think he’s got very good emotional maturity, and obviously, he was a great footballer himself.”

Dorrell’s financial standing might beg the question about whether he would consider purchasing a share in the club if the opportunity arose.

Last month, Swedish private equity firm EQT bought a majority stake in Melbourne that was said to value the Storm at $200 million.

The Sharks are a members-owned club and not for sale, and Dorrell’s organisation invests in assets like data centres, oil pipelines and ports, rather than sports teams.

He has bantered with Cannon-Brookes about Souths and the Sharks but has no intention of becoming an owner.

He does, however, plan to keep backing his boyhood team.

“I think rugby league is such a precious property for the community and I know how important it was to me growing up,” he said.

“As long as I’m doing well in business, I’ll help the club out.”