ACT Brumbies rugby union great Joe Roff says it's baseless to suggest he would hurt the club and says there is no basis for him to be drawn into former chief executive Michael Jones' legal case.
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It can be revealed that Mr Roff was named as a defendant in Mr Jones' case for allegedly refusing the Brumbies permission to set up a stall at the University of Canberra's Orientation Week in February.
Mr Jones alleged that Mr Roff, now the head of the UC Union, was punishing him for his decision to blow the whistle on irregularities with the sale of the Brumbies Griffith headquarters and move to the University of Canberra.
Mr Roff was also accused of ceasing to distribute free tickets for Brumbies games at the direction of vice-chancellor Stephen Parker.
However, a social media post from the Brumbies on February 10 shows players Albert Anae and Robbie Abel at the university's market day in Orientation Week selling memberships.
Mr Roff said: "Until now I have been at a complete loss as to the claim Michael Jones is making against me.
"Given I supported the Brumbies in having a stall at Orientation Week it is now evident to me that the claim has no basis.
"The photo of the stall was taken from the Brumbies website. It takes a magician to post a photo of a stall in one breath and then claim it never existed in the next.
"Anyone that knows me well would know it is laughable that I would in some way seek to harm the Brumbies, an organisation that has given me so much."
Mr Jones' case against the Brumbies ended after he agreed to a payout and to mutually part ways two weeks ago, after being initially stood down by the club on March 21 and reinstated via court order less than 24 hours later.
But his case is continuing against the University of Canberra, its vice-chancellor Stephen Parker, the UC union, Mr Roff, and former deputy chief minister David Lamont.
He is claiming they took "detrimental action" against him after he blew the whistle on concerns with the $11.375 million sale of the Griffith land and move to Bruce.
Justice Richard Refshauge said in his ruling that Mr Jones' public interest disclosures appeared to be the "dominant factor" in the Brumbies board's decision to stand down Mr Jones.
The KPMG report into Brumbies transactions between 2009 and 2013 was the source of angst between Mr Jones and stakeholders.
Mr Jones' statement of claim, the document summarising his case, was filed late last month, but has been stripped of much of the explosive content regarding "disquieting issues" linked to the move to the University of Canberra.
That information has been suppressed and remains in a secret document.
The Brumbies board met on Wednesday night to further discuss its plans to permanently replace Mr Jones.
It is believed the Australian Rugby Union is keen for former AFP detective Phil Thomson to step into an interim chief executive role to be a calming influence at the Brumbies.
However, there are fears in Canberra's rugby ranks that the ARU's involvement would signal a move to a takeover and a centralised model where the ARU controls all of Australia's Super Rugby teams.
It is also believed the Brumbies board has started a process to push through governance changes to elect a more professional board in the future as well as start collecting money owed to the organisation.
Mr Roff has been floated as a potential candidate to fill the chief executive role when the Brumbies decide on their future.
Mr Roff won two Super Rugby titles with the Brumbies, scoring 520 points in his 82 games, and helped Australia win the World Cup in 1999.
"I've had no discussions with the board in regards to the development of the chief executive role and I have no idea for what the board is planning," Mr Roff said.
"I hope they can sort things out very quickly for the sake of rugby and to mend some bridges."
The Brumbies play the Melbourne Rebels on Friday night as they seek to continue their on-field resurgence and maintain their standing at the top of the Australian conference.
SUPER RUGBY ROUND 12
Friday: Melbourne Rebels v ACT Brumbies at AAMI Park, 7.40pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.
Brumbies team: 15. Aidan Toua, 14. James Dargaville, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Robbie Coleman, 11. Nigel Ah Wong, 10. Christian Lealiifano, 9. Tomas Cubelli, 8. Jarrad Butler, 7. David Pocock, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: 16. Josh Mann-Rea, 17. Allan Alaalatoa, 18. Ruan Smith, 19. Tom Staniforth, 20. Blake Enever, 21. Jordan Smiler, 22. Joe Powell, 23. Lausii Taliauli.
