NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is set to come under fire with the ARL Commission launching an internal inquiry into last week's botched funding negotiations with the clubs.
ARLC chairman John Grant sent an email to all 16 club chairmen at 2.45am on Tuesday ahead of their meeting in Sydney, informing them of the commission's decision to ask Greenberg and NRL chief financial officer Tony Crawford for a "please explain".
In further evidence of the divide between the commissioners and the NRL executives, Grant has appointed finance guru Tony McGrath, who holds one of six seats on the ARLC, to oversee the NRL's revised offer to the clubs.
Grant and the commissioners maintain they were not informed of the proposal that was put forward to the clubs last week, in which Crawford outlined plans to delay funding over six years rather than the agreed five-year term.
There is a perception in club land that Grant and Greenberg are at loggerheads over the proposal, with the latest movements only highlighting the lack of trust among the game's hierarchy.
McGrath will work with Greenberg and Grant and is expected to report back to the commission ahead of the next meeting with the clubs on June 15.
The clubs will also demand the NRL provide greater transparency into recent investments, which includes details surrounding a proposed $150 million digital strategy and $100m grassroots investment.
The club chairmen gathered in Sydney on Tuesday in what was expected to be a push to remove Grant from his post as ARLC chairman.
However, given Grant's email in the early hours of Tuesday morning, in which he claimed to have no knowledge of the proposal that has angered the clubs, frustrations over Grant's position have eased.
Attention has now turned to the NRL executive team, with an internal inquiry having the potential to claim a senior casualty.
The clubs have also reopened talks to bring change to the constitution, hoping to appoint four new commissioners on a restructured nine-person commission. The clubs want to appoint two state-authorised commissioners to represent the Queensland Rugby League and NSWRL as well as two club-linked commissioners.
