NRL Council a bid by clubs to regain control of rugby league

RUGBY league clubs unite to create a body to lobby the ARLC on issues like refereeing standards and the looming $1 billion TV deal.

TRAVELLING faster than bad news, Nick Politis throws a mock right hand towards The Daily Telegraph photographer, attempting to block his picture while laughing: "I'm not important mate ... don't worry about me." Yeah, right.

While the Godfather may have been playing himself down yesterday, the ongoing power struggle that is rugby league was considerably amped up when Club Land's heaviest hitters filed, one after another, through the sliding, glass doors of St George Leagues to create a bold, new entity - the NRL Council.

Officially, this new consortium of all 16 NRL clubs has formed to ensure effective communication with the Independent Commission on issues like refereeing standards and the looming $1 billion TV deal.

But unofficially? Think a meeting of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars.

And for proof, consider that after two hours of talk, some of league's biggest names - men like Politis, Phil Gould, even Paul 'The Chief' Harragon - re-emerged through those same doors refusing to speak. Even Souths CEO Shane Richardson was consumed by the cone of silence.

Which is why many in League Land see this new NRL Council as a united push to reclaim a large chunk of control from the game's new governing body.

There is no doubting the group's clout when men like Gould and Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg choose to attend the meeting themselves, rather than send underlings to take notes.

Cronulla chairman Damian Irvine was also in attendance despite battling illness while senior Souths duo, Richardson and chairman Nick Pappas, made it 25 minutes late after scooting across Sydney from an earlier engagement.

But they left the talk to group representative and Wests Tigers chairman Dave Trodden, who rejected claims the council was "a lobby group" or that its members were seeking to steal authority from the new commission.

Nick Pappas and Shane Richardson

"This council has nothing to do with (power). It's about all 16 clubs achieving a high level of strategic interaction with the commission and its commissioners.

"Our whole aim is to form a concept of engagement between the clubs and the NRL Commission. Today was about introducing that concept to the clubs and trying to work out topics we can engage the commission about."

The first showdown is set for August 27, with the chairman or CEO from every NRL club to talk through their issues with the commissioners.

Asked what topics had been added to those already revealed in these pages, Trodden continued: "At this stage I'd prefer to discuss those with the commission, not anyone outside it". And so we wait.

The commission already finds itself under attack for a perceived lack of progress on refereeing standards and finding a replacement for departed CEO David Gallop.

It's a situation that ensures league's version of the Galactic Empire won't be so quiet on Monday week.