Key signing: Brodie Croft has extended his contract with the Melbourne Storm. Credit:Scott Barbour Manly have also lifted confidentiality clauses binding former staffers to allow them to be interviewed by the integrity unit. That development has cleared the NRL to interview the likes of former Sea Eagles chief executive Tim Cleary about his short, but tumultuous, stint at Brookvale. Manly have claimed from the outset they have nothing to hide and their willingness to play ball with the NRL has raised hopes the investigation can be completed in a timely manner. Both parties are hopeful a conclusion can be reached before the finals so there won't be a cloud over the Sea Eagles' finals campaign. Titans' $5 million black hole The new owners of the Gold Coast will have a $1.2 million gap to fill each season after the club's major sponsor pulled the pin with up to four years remaining on its contract.

Aquis has been the major backer of the Titans since June of 2015, coming aboard just weeks after Daly Cherry-Evans backflipped on the club to stay at Manly. The firm has ridden the highs and lows ever since, including Jarryd Hayne's signing and last year's surprising finals appearance. While the company has an option in its favour to stick around until 2021, Aquis has told the Titans they won't be taking it up, leaving a void of almost $5 million. The Aquis deal is among the richest in NRL history and their departure will leave the Gold Coast alongside Parramatta as clubs yet to secure a major backer for 2018. Unless a suitable replacement can be found, the development looms as an additional cost for prospective buyers as the club is set to officially go on the market. "Aquis has been a great sponsor during a critical period whilst we've been stabilising the club under NRL ownership," Gold Coast boss Graham Annesley said. "We have an existing portfolio of outstanding sponsors and we are also in negotiation with a number of high-profile prospective new partners.

"The club is in great shape, which is reflected by the level of interest shown by parties hopeful of securing ownership of the club." At least two consortiums – one led by current director Darryl Kelly and another that wants to involve the Central Coast Bears – are among the potential new franchise owners. Black hole: The Gold Coast Titans have lost a major sponsor worth $1.2 million a year. Credit:Jason O'Brien Storm a step ahead Melbourne have again shown why they are a step ahead of their rivals after Storm staffers swapped ideas with cricket officials, including Greg Chappell, last week.

Storm personnel are always looking for ways to improve themselves and their team, often going on study tours to share information across different sports. They were at it again recently when Storm recruitment guru Paul Bunn met with Cricket Australia's national talent manager and selector Chappell to compare notes on talent spotting, culture and other key philosophies. "With the experience Greg Chappell has, the information he is able to pass on is immeasurable," Bunn said. "He's a very knowledgeable man and he's got a crew of people that have put together a really good process. I'm really impressed with how they operate. "There is a heap of information that is transferable. Just chatting with Greg Chappell, Darren Holder and other people in their talent identification unit, they look for similar traits in their players as what we do at the Storm. Their ideal culture is very much in step with what we look for. "Greg Chappell has got himself a very impressive talent identification program there.

"It's great to share experiences, ideologies and processes across different sports." Bunn is one of the unsung heroes behind the Storm's success. The talent spotter played a key role in the identification and then re-signing of four key players – Brandon Smith, Brodie Croft, Jahrome Hughes and Cheyse Blair – during the week. With little fanfare, Bunn himself re-signed with the Storm long term. "We've made a lot of key re-signings recently, but keeping Bunny until the end of 2020 is as important as any of them," said Melbourne chief executive Dave Donaghy. "We think he's one of the best in the business and we're very excited to have him on board for another three years."

2600 lined up for Bulldogs top job They may be a club under the pump, but it hasn't dissuaded applicants for the top job at Canterbury. The Bulldogs have received 2600 expressions of interest for the chief executive's role that will soon be vacated by Raelene Castle. "[Recruitment agency] Sportspeople have vetted all of those and our selection panel met the other day to go through the top 10 or 15 personnel," Bulldogs chairman Ray Dib said. "We have culled that back to a shortlist of between six and 10 and will begin interviewing very soon."

Clearys go head-to-head at dinner table There could well be some awkward moments at the Cleary dinner table ahead of next weekend's Panthers-Tigers clash. Nathan Cleary still lives at home with dad Ivan, an arrangement that could leave the rest of the family with a dilemma over who to cheer for. "I might be kicked out of the house, we'll see," Nathan Cleary quipped during the week. "I don't know if it will be awkward, but there will probably be a bit of banter flying around. It will be all fun. It will be a pretty interesting week, nothing that I've really done before, but I'm looking forward to it."

Ivan continues to offer footy advice to his teenage son after taking up the post at Wests Tigers, although that could be on hold for a week. "He's still just my dad and that's how it is," Nathan said. Des not only one under threat The fallout from the Manly salary cap investigation and the Blues' Origin debacle have taken the spotlight away from several coaches who would otherwise be under the blowtorch. Canberra was a popular tip as one of the sides to beat this year, but won't be playing finals football. Aside from last year's play-off appearance, it has been a very lean time for Ricky Stuart. Since 2009, Stuart-coached NRL teams have won just 58 of 158 games – that's 10 wins from 48 matches at Cronulla, five of 24 during Parramatta's wooden-spoon season of 2013 and 43 of 93 at the Raiders.

The result is a winning percentage of just 36.7 per cent, yet Sticky has earned a contract extension until the end of 2020. Michael Maguire has also faced little scrutiny despite his side missing the finals for a second consecutive season. The South Sydney coach earned himself a grace period after taking the club to a breakthrough premiership in 2014, but there has been a steady decline ever since. Des Hasler has copped plenty of flak and there are calls for his head, but his record is far superior to that of Stuart and Maguire. Sticky situation: Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has been lucky to avoid scrutiny and speculation. Credit:Rohan Thomson El Masri favourite to beat Dogs

A month ago, we asked the question: is Hazem El Masri single-handedly a more potent attacking weapon than the entire 2017 Canterbury squad? Some laughed at us for suggesting the Bulldogs, the worst attacking team in the competition, would score less points than the goalkicking winger during his record-breaking 2004 season. However, it is becoming increasingly likely that the Dogs, having amassed just 260 points so far, will fall short of the 342 mark set by the man known as "El Magic". When sportsbet.com.au framed a fantasy market for us last month, they had the current Bulldogs side at $1.50 to break the 342-point barrier, with El Masri at $2.50. When we asked the online bookmaker for updated odds, El Masri has shot into $1.80 favouritism over the Bulldogs at $2. From the vault

He was dubbed the "fastest white man alive", but speed alone doesn't cut it in rugby league. Australian sprinter Darren Clark, who came fourth in the 400 metres at consecutive Olympic Games, is paraded as the Balmain Tigers' star recruit for the 1991 season. Australian Olympic and Commonwealth games sprinter Darren Clark signs with Balmain Tigers in 1991. Credit:Robert Clark/Fairfax Media Yep, league's a funny old game It's the throwaway line that has become a slogan. Ivan Cleary's "on the bus" comment – a reference to getting on board with the new direction of Wests Tigers – has been incorporated into their merchandising range. The club now sells "on the bus" T-shirts and hats, like this one modelled for us by young Tigers fan William. Wests Tigers fan William sports his On The Bus hat.

The headline you don't want to see Loading "Dogs dump Des" Des Hasler survived last week's board meeting, but it remains to be seen how much of – if any – his new two-year contract he will see out. Given he almost got sacked when the Bulldogs made the finals, he will do well to survive now that they've missed out.