ARLC Chairman Peter Beattie declares he will walk away from the game if required

ARLC Chairman Peter Beattie has declared he will push on with his reform of the independent commission, even if it costs him his job.

Beattie is trying to reform the commission. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi.

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Peter Beattie says he will press on with reforming the game’s commission even if it means giving up his role as ARLC chairman.

Beattie is leading the charge to remove the three-year stand-down rule for club and state officials to join the commission and has set the goal of having the rule changed by February’s annual meeting.

Beattie’s three-year term as a commissioner expires then, too, with the former Queensland premier prepared to leave the game if he can push through the reform. The chairmanship is elected each year by fellow commissioners.

Beattie said he was willing to sacrifice his own role if it meant he was successful in passing through the reform.

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Beattie is trying to reform the commission. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi.

“No one is more important than the game,” Beattie said. “My position is not important.

“If you get a new commission in place, they will decide who the new chair is. And they may just want to find another chair.”

Beattie faces a tough ask to push through the reform. He has failed once already and needs the approval of 15 of the 16 NRL clubs and the two states to agree to the change.

The likes of Nick Pappas, Bart Campbell, Laurence Lancini and Dennis Watt have been mentioned as potential candidates to step up from their club roles into the commission if the reform is passed.

Beattie has already started speaking with club representatives and met with Queensland Rugby League chair Bruce Hatcher on Friday. He contacted the club chairs yesterday and said he would call them in the next few weeks.

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“We already have a talented commission but there is no point having talented players in the grandstand and not on the field,” Beattie said. “I’ve communicated with the club chairs that this won’t be easy.

“But we need goodwill from the game to get agreement. I tried to get it up last time and failed.

“It’s not easy but this is in the best interests of the game.”

Any change will be the biggest reform since the commission was founded in February 2012.

The game has a vacant seat at the commission table after Mark Coyne’s resignation last month.

Beattie wants to have over the chairmanship to Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys.

Originally published as ARLC Chairman Peter Beattie declares he will walk away from the game if required