John Grant insists there is no frustration among the commission-elect
by: Brent Read
From: The Australian
November 01, 2011 12:00AM
CHAIRMAN-elect John Grant yesterday insisted he and his fellow commissioners remained as committed as ever to the game as the ongoing dispute over club funding meant another deadline came and went for the formation of the independent commission.
Officials from the 16 clubs met yesterday to discuss the latest offer from the NRL partnership over the funding impasse that has stymied the commission's formation and prompted the clubs to take the extraordinary step of allowing their membership agreements to lapse, meaning none is committed to the competition next season.
It is understood the clubs will hold further talks this week and officials are optimistic the issue can be resolved within days. That said, the spat over future funding, and the resultant delays in the commission's formation, have prompted concerns some of the eight inaugural commissioners-elect could walk away in frustration.
Grant insisted that was not the case. "There is no frustration on behalf of the commission-elect," he said. "All the people who are on the commission have been involved in mergers, acquisitions and restructuring activities before and what we all know is that they take longer than everyone thinks.
"There is always discussions that need to be had to resolve points of difference. The concern we have is the longer it goes, the less time we have to actually put into the big deal things like the broadcast rights negotiations.
"Everyone has a vested interest in resolving that as quickly as possible. But that will take a lot of time and a lot of work and we want to make sure we leave ourselves enough time to do that.
"That's really the pressure point. It's not so much for the commission, it's more for the clubs themselves. There's no feeling at the moment that any commissioners are going to walk away out of frustration or out of concern."
The clubs have asked for $2.15 million in extra funding next year _ $500,000 straight away and a further $1.65m when the game's next broadcasting deal is finalised. It is understood News Limited _ which publishes The Australian _ and the Australian Rugby League, the game's co-owners, responded with a counter-offer, which was discussed at length yesterday.
More meetings are planned this week as the parties seek a resolution. ARL chairman John Chalk and chief executive Geoff Carr will have to take part via telephone after flying out of the country last night to attend an international board meeting in England. NRL chief executive David Gallop will also attend the meeting.
"Over the last seven days, we have made a lot of progress in solving all of the problems," Wests Tigers director and club spokesman David Trodden said.
While the November 1 date for the commission's formation has lapsed, Grant remains confident once the funding issue is resolved the body can be quickly formed.
"I think it's right for people to have a concern because it's patently clear now the commissioners were named early in the process and probably too early, given the process," Grant said.
"You could also mount an argument that if we weren't named and we hadn't become involved, this process might go on for a lot longer, as well."
