http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...e/news-story/f7b13a568fec9a33dd56f19a660016da
ARLC chairman John Grant fights to keep job after no-confidence vote
- The Australian
- 12:00AM November 25, 2016
- Brent Read
Chairman John Grant is fighting to retain his position at the helm of rugby league amid a vote of no confidence in his leadership and revelations some clubs are lobbying to have former Nine Network chief executive David Gyngell join the game’s independent commission, potentially as his replacement.
The chairs of the 16 clubs held a phone hook-up yesterday afternoon where they drafted a letter outlining their lack of confidence in Grant’s leadership and calling on his fellow commissioners to support his removal. Gyngell is currently acting in an advisory role with the Rugby League Players Association and, under the existing ARLC constitution, would require the support of the current commissioners.
His addition would also require a change in the constitution given he has been a recent director of the Sydney Roosters — the commission was designed to distance the game’s decision-making from former club officials.
It is also likely he would be required to stand down from his positions on the Nine Network board and the RLPA.
It is understood the letter warns Grant that his future will be played out in public unless he agrees to stand down from his job on the commission and foreshadows the clubs forcing an extraordinary general meeting to vote on his leadership before the end of the year.
It also calls on the existing commissioners to support changes to the constitution that would give the clubs two representatives on the commission, as well as one representative of the state bodies.
The Australian understands some club officials are pushing for Gyngell — a former Sydney Roosters board member and a key player in the negotiations that led to the game signing the richest broadcasting deal in its history — to join the commission, potentially in the role of chairman.
The latest developments continue a dramatic 48 hours which began when Grant and NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg told club officials they were putting talks on hold over their proposed licencing agreements.
Club bosses reacted by targeting Grant, whose position as chairman appears untenable.
“There is no confidence in John Grant’s ability to handle any of the big challenges the sport faces,” one chairman told
The Australian. “They are hardly setting the world on fire in terms of governance of the game. Yesterday was one of the worst things I have seen anyone do in business in terms of the quality and understanding of their actions.”
The unified front presented by the clubs has put them at odds with the commission, creating significant ramifications for the two sides that remain in the control of the NRL.
The commission owns the licences for Newcastle and Gold Coast, having bailed both clubs out of financial difficulties. It is understood NRL officials contacted them last night seeking clarity over their plans.
While their decision to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion puts them at odds with their owner, there is a school of thought that the commission would be reluctant to take action because of the potential public relations disaster if they stepped in.
The debate over the game’s leadership hijacked yesterday’s unveiling of the NRL draw, which was announced by Greenberg.
“It’s not a new phenomenon that the head body of a sport and its clubs will have differing views on funding and we will continue to have those discussion,” Greenberg said.
“There will be more discussions in the next week, or so I would anticipate, with the chairmen of the clubs and we will work together to find a resolution.
“The principle of what the NRL and the commission have to do is divide the distribution of its funding adequately across the games. There is always going to be some angst between the clubs about what their distribution model looks like and ours.
“We had a frank and open disussion yesterday. Sometimes those discussions are quite difficult but we will continue to have them.”
Asked what had changed over the past 12 months and led to the commission altering its stance, Greenberg said: “I think what has happened is there has been some differing principles from last year to now.
“We were up front with the clubs yesterday and we will continue to be up front with them.
“The clubs are such an important part of the game but also there are other parts of the game including grassroots.
“We’ve got some concerning trends about participation in sports. So we have to make sure that in the next cycle we have a distribution model that allows us to invest in all parts to grow the sport.
“That’s a prudent outcome for the commission to undertake.”
Greenberg also backed Grant.
“John’s a good man who works hard and always puts the game first,” Greenberg said.
“He will continue to do that as chairman — I have absolute faith in that.”
The commission justified its decision to delay talks with the clubs by saying it wanted to focus on talks with the players union, although those discussions threaten to be long and exhausting.
The salary cap is only one of the issues, albeit a significant one. There has been talk the commission wants to push for a $9 million cap in 2018, a figure that is unlikely to win the support of the Rugby League Players Association.
The RLPA is also pushing to have the game’s illicit drugs policy toned down and wants a dramatic increase in the salary cap exemptions for long-serving players.
