Talking Footy

ARL Commission chief executive David Gallop has revealed in a memo to all club bosses that the Titans are one of "a number of clubs" in financial trouble.

In an angry missive obtained by The Daily Telegraph, Gallop took exception to a report in The Australian newspaper on Saturday that quoted an unnamed source who claimed the NRL had "never been interested " in seeing their financial records.

There is a strong belief among the clubs that Gallop and NRL management should have stepped in earlier to prevent the Titans from slipping into a black hole of $25 million of debt.

In the email, sent on Saturday afternoon, Gallop ordered clubs to conduct their own witch-hunt to find the source of the leak - and wanted to set the record straight.

"I would further remind clubs that as part of the formation of the commission, a complete set of financials across all 16 clubs was received and formed as part of the due diligence process," Gallop said. "As much as the Titans issue is problematic for us all, the 'unidentified' spokespeople in the equation are fuelling a difficult situation with false information that is anything but helpful."

Of greater concern is Gallop's admission that the Titans have not been the only ones facing severe financial stress.

"There has been an ongoing requirement for all clubs since the year 2000 to provide ongoing financial reports and there has been close investigation of any club with financial issues," Gallop said in the email. "The Gold Coast has been one of a number of clubs in that latter group for some time."

The Sharks, Penrith and Manly are among those presently doing it tough.

Said Gallop last night: "It's not unusual to advance the monthly grant to clubs with cashflow problems, which often occurs during the off-season.

"Before those advances are made, we look carefully at clubs' financial position and ability to catch up on the grant. It happens reasonably regularly."

cos789 wrote:

By everybody's reaction nobody is surprised.

cos789 wrote:

Do you think the AFL will buy up a few of these clubs?
Could have them as curtain raisers to GWS games!