NRL club chairmen issue vote of no confidence in John Grant

THE plot to dump ARL commission boss John Grant and blow apart the independent commission was hatched over dinner in a Darlinghurst restaurant.

THE plan to dump commission boss John Grant and blow apart the independent commission was hatched over dinner in a Darlinghurst restaurant late on Wednesday night.

The disgruntled but united bosses of the 16 clubs gathered upstairs at the flash Verde eatery after a hostile meeting with NRL chairman John Grant and chief executive Todd Greenberg.

The chairmen of the Sharks, Bulldogs, Storm and Cowboys stormed out of the earlier meeting, which escalated and intensified a crisis that has been threatening the NRL administration for months.

The clubs have issued a no confidence vote in John Grant. Picture: Brett Costello

In a rare show of unity, the bosses agreed on one thing — that Grant had to go. And by the time the main course arrived the numbers had been counted. Fifteen of the 16 agreed, while the Gold Coast Titans are weighing up their position.

A number of big names are being tossed around as potential replacements for Grant.

There was talk of former CEO John Quayle returning in an interim capacity, NSWRL chairman George Peponis or even former Channel 9 boss David Gyngell.

The NRL is pointing the finger at Gyngell for the mutiny due to his close relationship with

The NRL clubs have lost faith in John Grant.

Roosters supremo Nick Politis and his role in advising the Rugby League Players Association in striking a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The clubs will also demand a review of the game’s constitution that could not only threaten Grant’s position but also bring down three of his colleagues on the commission.

The clubs declared in the letter sent to the NRL on Thursday that they could no longer negotiate a future funding model while the commission chairman remained in his job.

Even the NRL-owned Newcastle Knights are understood to have signed the letter. So too did the Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra, two clubs that have relied on NRL funding to survive in recent years.

NRL club chairmen met at the Olympic Hotel before heading onto a Darlinghurst restaurant and hatching a plan to axe John Grant. Picture: Brett Costello

Grant was in a commission meeting on Thursday and unaware of the move to sack him until one of his minders read about the attempted coup on The Daily Telegraph website and broke the news to him.

Staff said he had no idea it was coming, despite so much media speculation regarding his future.

The clubs, the NSWRL and QRL will now vote on Grant’s future and changes to the game’s constitution at a meeting likely to be held next week.

The motion is for the clubs to appoint two new commissioners and the states one each on a board that currently has eight independent commissioners.

Under the current constitution the commissioners are appointed from within the commission which denies the clubs any really representation.

Four club chairmen have a beer at the Olympic Hotel after storming out of an NRL meeting at League Central. Picture: Brett Costello

“We need people on the commission who better understand the clubs and their needs,” one of the chairman said. “At the moment we can’t get through to them.

“They have had 12 months to work out how to use the money from the broadcast deal but the clubs and the players have been left in the lurch.”

The game is in disarray with no future funding model and no salary cap beyond next year. Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for the players have also stalled.

“Other codes are leaving us for dead,” said another senior official.

“They all have long-term plans in place and we thought we were close until they pulled the original offer. That’s what’s brought this to a head.”

Originally published as NRL club chairmen issue vote of no confidence in John Grant