Under pressure: Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant and NRL CEO Todd Greenberg. Credit:Christopher Pearce While Grant is the visible target of the clubs, they also have their sights on two key RL Central executives: chief financial officer Tony Crawford and head of strategy Andrew Fraser, who are seen to be part of an arrogant, dismissive cabal. Both men are blamed for not responding to questions asked by the chairman of the clubs' group, Storm owner Bart Campbell, and therefore delaying the final execution of the MoU. Interestingly, their immediate boss, chief executive Todd Greenberg, on whose recommendation the MoU was taken off the table, has been spared much of the vitriol. Greenberg, formerly the CEO of the Bulldogs, has a close friendship with Ray Dib, one of the four club chairmen to walk out of a meeting with Grant last week, with those who remained insisting it was not a staged tactic.

One club chairman said: "Don't underestimate the vitriol. People you would think of as moderates, such as the Cowboys' Laurence Lancini, are very angry." While Greenberg, who is said to be "suffocated" by Grant's micro-managing style, is unlikely to lose his job, the risk is Crawford and Fraser may decide all the venom is simply too much. Both are extremely bright and came from senior positions outside the code, with Fraser having been treasurer in the Bligh Queensland government. The most vexing question ahead of the December 20 extraordinary general meeting, assuming the 14 clubs and NSWRL remain as a bloc, is Grant's replacement. Under the existing ARLC constitution, the commissioners have the power to appoint a replacement who may not be the new chairman. While the chair will be one of their own – former ACCC chief Graeme Samuel and CSR boss Jeremy Sutcliffe have been suggested as willing candidates – it won't quell the suspicion that the commission is influenced by the administration. There is no unifying candidate who qualifies under the ARLC's prohibitive charter that bars anyone who has held a position in the game in the previous three years. (The AFL does not restrict itself this way, with Andrew Newbold moving from chairman of Hawthorn to commissioner this year).

Former Nine boss David Gyngell is disqualified because Nine is the code's free-to-air broadcaster and, in any case, he is advising the RLPA. Nor does he have the support of many clubs who rightly point out that he is exposed to the same conflict of interest charges as News Ltd directors who sat on the board of the NRL and also Fox Sports, the code's pay-for-view network. "He needs time out," one club chairman said. Newcastle and the Gold Coast are in the invidious position of having to support Grant because the ARLC technically owns them, but they are also entitled to feel angry because the current impasse means plans to sell them must be put on hold. The NSWRL are obviously comfortable with a conflict Grant has identified: an organisation with the responsibility of developing the grassroots will vote for less money for game development and more to the NRL clubs.

However, the NSWRL charter is to foster all clubs in the state and, with the Roosters Nick Politis and Dib on its board, together with Bulldogs licensed club president, Dr George Peponis, as NSWRL chair, it would appear that some clubs need more fostering than others. The NSWRL and CRL have moved out of RL Central to Homebush, meaning RL Central is really the NRL. It mocks the role of the ARLC as "having all the game under the one umbrella". Now there are more umbrellas in rugby league than on a hot day at Bondi beach. Will two of the 14 dissenting clubs stay in the shade but abstain from voting, thereby ensuring Grant survives on his own casting vote, while turning the game itself inside out in the process?