Time for stadium talk: NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg. Credit:Damian Bennett Sports Minister Stuart Ayres has every other major sport on board, from cricket, AFL, rugby union and the city's two A-League franchises, Sydney FC and the Wanderers. A cartel of Sydney clubs, though, are holding out. Premier Mike Baird announced in September that a new Allianz Stadium and Parramatta Stadium and redeveloped ANZ Stadium would be built – provided the major codes commit to enough content. Now, at one minute to midnight, self-interested NRL clubs have hijacked the entire process, dictating terms to a state government that is fast losing patience about how it should spend money that's come about because of the sale of electricity assets.

Baird is in Israel, heading a trade delegation. Ayres wants the matter resolved before the big fella comes home in a week. In January, as ARL chairman John Grant's expensive worldwide search for Dave Smith's replacement dragged on, influential club powerbrokers were pushing for Greenberg to be given the job. "He's one of us," ran the argument because Greenberg was once the chief executive of the Bulldogs. Translation: we can manipulate him for our own needs. The attitude was in stark contrast to that of many club bosses in April 2013 when Greenberg was appointed as the NRL's head of football.

They wanted him sacked amid claims he covered up domestic violence allegations levelled at Bulldogs fullback Ben Barba. Greenberg was cleared of any wrongdoing. He finally made passing comment on the stadium issue at the launch of the State of Origin series last week, but has yet to lay bare his philosophy on where games should be played in the future. Those heavily involved in the negotiation process are frustrated that he's stayed at arm's length for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his code. The great hope of the ARL Commission was that it would run the game. That it would make hard decisions that might not have pleased some but served the greater good. Smith wasn't afraid to dump rugby league etiquette on its arse. It probably cost him his job but his foresight was commendable.

Now, as chief executive, Greenberg needs to cut through the agendas and spin being cranked up as the deadline approaches for the NRL to commit 65 matches per season to the new stadium network. Greenberg was contacted for comment on Monday but did not respond. Last week, major Sydney media outlets were leaked artist's impressions of a redeveloped 75,000-seat ANZ Stadium. Looked impressive. Artist's impressions usually do. I still want to know how it will be a better place to watch footy than the current layout. How it will be better than a purpose-built rectangular stadium. How it will be better than a new 30,000-seat stadium at Parramatta, just six kilometres up the road. Some suggest almost all of the $1.6 billion would be exhausted to re-configure ANZ Stadium to make it a proper, rectangular stadium. Doesn't really add up, does it? In the meantime, convenient facts and figures and theories are being drip fed all over the place.

And conspiracies. The strongest is that Ayres is trying to garner the support of powerful members of the SCG Trust – in other words, 2GB's Alan Jones. Would Ayres seriously push for a $1.6 billion stadium network to appease Jones? When the stadium discussion first started, funding sat at about $300m. Ayres convinced cabinet to raise it to $1.6 billion. Now, some want him sacked. AOC boss John Coates came out swinging in support of ANZ Stadium. Given that he's a director on the Sydney Olympic Park Authority, it would be a better story if he didn't. FFA boss David Gallop backs ANZ Stadium, too, but he's playing poker with a bad hand. The Socceroos are lucky to play more than one match out of ANZ Stadium a year.

And if there's one thing this humble hack has learned from covering rugby league it's this: when a club chairman says "all the clubs are thinking like this" it actually means "a couple of us". Clubs are governed by self interest, not the collective good. The truth is out there. For instance, some at the Roosters report the Moore Park-based club does not want a new Allianz Stadium. The powerbroker that matters the most, though, has no objection on the proviso the Roosters can still play out of the old Allianz while the new one is built. Anything else that needs clarifying? Actually, there is. Under the plan suggested by Ayres, about $800 million would be used on a new Allianz Stadium. Another $300m would be spent on a new Parramatta Stadium. The remaining $500m would be used on ANZ Stadium. These are rubbery figures, but in the ballpark.

All three have an important role to play in Sydney's future sporting landscape. The network proposed would be available to all Sydney clubs, for whatever matches they wanted. There would be no competition between stadiums. Just the best allocation of matches – especially the big ones - to suit the fans. The other misnomer is that suburban grounds will become obsolete. This is particularly worrying for Manly and Sharks fans who do not want to travel outside their area. The fact is games will still be played at suburban grounds but the headline matches can now be played in stadiums befitting the occasion, the crowd, the corporate dollars that can't be gained from small grounds that are a throwback to the 1970s. The last time I visited Brookvale Oval, the queue for food and beverage under the grandstand was so long I saw a fan drop his hotdog, pick it up, dust it off and then take a bite. Is this the future of rugby league?

When the Sydney clubs emerged from a meeting last Friday, they demanded a $200m upgrade of suburban grounds. It works out at $25m per ground. Rugby league is one of the last professional competitions in the world playing out of rundown, suburban grounds. In 1995, the average crowd at rugby league matches was 14,500. Last year, that number increased to about 16,000. Time to grow up. NRL clubs are the lifeblood of the game. They are brands that need protecting. But the powerful few cannot keep holding the game to ransom. Before the commission was formed, clubs threatened a breakaway league if they didn't get increased funding. They did the same thing around the last television broadcast deal.

Loading Now, similar brinkmanship threatens to cost the game a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build a network of stadiums that benefits the entire city – and not just one or two clubs. Time for Greenberg to step in. It's come earlier than many expected, but his time has arrived.