Tony Crawford has wide-ranging Director and Chair experience across a variety of sectors, including with Heart Research Australia, HBF Health Limited, Grant Thornton Australia and the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW.     He began his professional career as a dispute resolution lawyer, eventually going on to secure the role of CEO at DLA Phillips Fox – a position he held for more than a decade.     Crawford served as President of Northern Suburbs Rugby Football Club for almost 8 years, and has been on the NSW Rugby Board since 2018.

Tony Crawford Headshot

Tony Crawford

Matthew Burke is an Australian former international rugby union player and sport presenter on Sydney's 10 News First.  When he retired from international rugby in 2004 he was the leading points scorer in the Super Rugby Competition. He is the most-capped fullback and the second highest scorer for Australia in Test rugby.  Owing to Matt Burke's lasting impact in the New South Wales jersey, the Waratahs' Player of the Year is now awarded the Matt Burke Trophy.  In addition to being a leading fullback and playing with the Wallabies for over a decade, Burke's third year as New South Wales Waratahs captain saw him become the first player in the history of Waratah rugby to play over 100 games.

2024 Matt Burke headshot

Matt Burke

Richard Harry, a proud New South Welshman, played his rugby for the Waratahs and Wallabies in a golden era for Australian rugby, representing the Waratahs on 74 occasions and Wallabies in 31 Test matches holding every piece of silverware available including the World Cup and Bledisloe Cup.     Harry has forged a successful career post rugby career as an accomplished real estate professional with extensive experience in corporate property and is currently the Group General Manager of Business Development at Goodman.     Through his leadership and Senior Management roles in a variety of industries including Hospitality, Agribusiness and Real Estate Tech, Harry brings a wealth of knowledge in commercial grounding in profit & loss and Balance Sheet management.

Richard Harry

Sally has over 20 years of experience in CEO and senior management roles and is currently General Manager Corporate & Indigenous Affairs at Coles. Before commencing this role, Sally was General Manager of Corporate Affairs for Sydney Airport for almost eight years.     With a strong track record in executive leadership, Sally was previously the CEO of the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) New South Wales branch and has also held the role of CEO of the AHA Northern Territory. In these roles, Sally was responsible for the administration of the Association, strategy, government relations, stakeholder engagement, member engagement, industrial relations and general legal advice, media and issues management, and was the Association’s official spokesperson.     Fielke commenced her career as a lawyer, working in both private practice and an ASX listed mining company.     She has sat on a number of key boards across tourism, education, sport and health and is currently chair of Coles’ Gender Equity committee and a member of the Chief Executive Women’s policy committee.  Fielke is a member of Chief Executive Women and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Sally Fielke Profile Photo

Sally Fielke

Matt joined the Waratah’s Board on 1 January 2024. He has been a Director of Rugby Australia since June 2021 and Chairman of the Executive Committee of SANZAAR since January 2024.  Matt has held senior executive and non-executive roles across law, investment banking and private equity in Australia, London and Hong Kong and is a founding partner of Barrenjoey, an Australian financial services firm.       Hanning has a deep connection with community rugby having played since the age of five, captaining rugby at The Kings School, playing both colts and senior grade rugby for Eastwood, club rugby in England and coaching junior rugby in Hong Kong.

Matt Hanning

Karen joined the Boards of NSW Waratahs Limited and Waratahs Rugby Pty Ltd in January 2024 and currently chairs the NSW Waratahs Audit & Risk Committee.     She has a B.Com (UNSW), holds a CPA and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.     Penrose’s executive experience was in leadership and finance roles, mainly in financial services, including 20 years in banking with Commonwealth Bank and HSBC and eight years as a listed-company CFO.  Since 2014, Penrose has been a full-time company director and currently serves on the listed company boards of Ramsay Health Care, Bank of Queensland, Reece and Cochlear Limited and until recently, Estia Health and Rugby Australia. During her three-year term at Rugby Australia, Karen served on various committees including the Audit & Risk Committee and the Capital Raise Committee. As inaugural Chair of Rugby Australia’s Women’s Rugby Advisory Committee, Karen championed Rugby Australia’s increased investment in the Women’s XV’s program and the appointment of Rugby Australia’s first female President.      Penrose has been connected to rugby throughout her life and has contemporary grass-roots experience, serving as President of Old Barker Rugby Club for four years to 2022.     Apart from her own interest in most sports, Penrose believes there are leadership, wellbeing and educative benefits in encouraging participation in sport.

Karen Penrose

David Dennis was born and raised in greater western Sydney and went on to play ten seasons for the Waratahs, captaining the team for three seasons, including the 2014 title-winning side. He also represented the Wallabies on 18 occasions. His playing career also included four seasons with the Exeter Chiefs in the English Premiership, winning two domestic titles and 1 European cup. He finished his career captaining the LA Giltinis in North America's Major League Rugby competition, winning the title in 2021.     Throughout his career, Dennis has developed a passion for team dynamics and helping contribute to high-performance environments.     Post-career Dennis has spent time educating student-athletes regarding high performance and navigating the early stages of their sporting careers. He has also worked as a clinical specialist in the orthopaedic field.     In his free time, Dennis enjoys spending time with his four young children.

Board of Directors