Why all 16 NRL clubs turned on ARL Commission and John Grant

HIDDEN deep within the angry fallout between the NRL and its clubs was a genuine fear the Commission could send the game broke, writes PAUL KENT.

HIDDEN deep within the angry fallout between the NRL and its clubs was a genuine fear the Commission could send the game broke.

It seems ludicrous given the new broadcast deal about to begin, but the clubs have worried privately for some time now as D-Day approached.

And approached ... given the seemingly eternal delay it took to finally get around the table.

The NRL and clubs entered into a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year, where the game agreed to pay the club grants at 130 per cent of the whatever the salary cap would be.

Most believed it would be an extra $3 million on top of a $10 million salary cap.

ARL Commission chairman John Grant after Wednesday’s tumultuous chairmen’s meeting. Picture: Brett Costello

But the NRL became the victims of not knowing its business, which has happened more than once since the Commission came into being.

As the backdrop to all this, let’s remember that some years back when the ARL Commission rode into town on the back of the current television deal, then NRL boss Dave Smith promised the game would bank $50 million a year for a nice little war chest.

Finally, the game was getting itself into the financial position most believe it should be in.

Unfortunately, since then nothing like an annual $50 million has been banked.

So the clubs were privately fearing that with the game already showing it was incapable of banking anything like $50 million a year, the game would send itself broke by stumping up an an extra $48 million for clubs (the 16 clubs each getting the $3 million above the salary cap).

All 16 club chairmen followed Wednesday’s meeting with a no-confidence vote in John Grant. Picture: Brett Costello

The clubs were wondering how the NRL was going to do it.

Well, on Wednesday they got their answer.

Given the MOU was expired the NRL felt the deal was invalid and free to be renegotiated, so the deal was off the table.

It prompted four chairmen — Laurence Lancini (North Queensland), Ray Dib (Canterbury), Damien Keogh (Cronulla) and Bart Campbell (Melbourne) — to walk out after just 15 minutes.

Roosters chairman Nick Politis was away, but fully supported the walkout.

The club bosses are concerned about the way the game is being financially managed at a time the game has never been more prosperous.

They also object to the NRL’s proposal that clubs should be collectively forced to bail out a club if it gets into financial trouble.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg stuck by John Grant at Thursday’s NRL 2017 draw launch. Picture: Gregg Porteous

While it works in theory, they know it would never work in practice.

Clubs would simply gamble, driven by the knowledge that other clubs would be forced to make up any shortfalls if their reckless spending did not succeed.

It could be absolutely disastrous.

So where to?

The game is in crisis for this very reason.

The clubs have no faith in the Commission chairman to run the business properly. Hundreds of millions more have been invested into the game and there is no discernible difference from when David Gallop ran the game with a secretary, three staff and an old typewriter.

In comparison, the AFL Commission has expanded its game in to every state, bought Docklands Stadium as a wise investment and have put in place a future funds that protects the weaker clubs without punishing the richer clubs.

ARL chairman John Grant is under fire from the NRL clubs.

The NRL is trying to enforce a socialist system.

The clubs worry the Commission do not have enough rugby league IQ to properly identify where and how the money should be correctly spent.

In lieu, they take a pin the tail on the donkey approach.

Much is swallowed in misinformation, though.

A good example is the new broadcast deal.

While many celebrated it, wooed by all those zeroes, and the NRL spin went into overtime, the

new deal came up about $300 million short of what it should have been because the NRL bungled the negotiations.

But we must be careful to not let the clubs get their way, either.

The moment the clubs get a toehold on power within the Commission the game could, and probably would, quickly descend back to the old days where a power base of clubs dictated to the game at the disadvantage of other clubs.

It’s what actually kickstarted the Super League war.

Thankfully, some clubs have recognised this and declared they won’t support it.

So what to do?

The Commission was formed with very strict criteria to dilute the clubs’ power over the game at Commission level.

It worked and was necessary, but it also had the effect of ruling out many good honest and qualified candidates, revealing now how skinny the field was we were left with.

It is time for a grown up approach with personal and club agendas to be put aside for the future of the game.

The tough part of that is it is something the game has always struggled to do.