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anterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have stood down chair Lynne Anderson and board members Paul Dunn and John Ballesty, effective immediately, following a petition signed by more than 100 members, power brokers and sponsors calling for the trio’s resignation.

The news comes just one week after the petition had been handed to Bulldogs chief executive officer, Andrew Hill.

The Bulldogs released a statement confirming the trio had left the club.

“The Bulldogs Football Club can confirm that chair Lynne Anderson and directors Paul Dunn and John Ballesty will stand down from the board of the Bulldogs Football Club with immediate effect,” the statement read.

“The trio have confirmed that this decision was done to avoid the club having to go through an EGM and in the best interests of the club moving forward.

“The Football Club would like to sincerely thank Lynne, Paul and John for their time, effort and commitment during their time on the Board and wish them every success in the future,” the statement said.

Bulldogs former chair, Anderson, said in a message to club members she was privileged to be given the opportunity to work with the bulldogs: “having twice been elected by a vote of the full membership in that time.”

“Whilst standing down means that I and two of my fellow directors, John Ballesty and Paul Dunn, won’t be around to finish the job we started, we will always put the interests of the club before our own.

“To that end, our decision clears a path for the club to move forward and build on the platform for future success we have laid, without the unnecessary disruption of an EGM before the 2021 season,” Anderson said.

The board changes could also see their major sponsor, Laundy Hotels, end their affiliation with the club after they said they would terminate their deal with the NRL club if any board changes were made that would affect the impact of Laundy Hotels on the club.

2020 has been a year to forget about for the Bulldogs, with their principal sponsor Rashays cutting ties with the club in the pre-season due to the player sex scandal involving two Bulldogs players.