Rugby league’s "push for constitutional change was on the verge of collapse" after the states signaled they "would not support the independent commission being increased to 10 members and insisted on their directors being eligible for the board," according to Brent Read of THE AUSTRALIAN. Only hours after the club chairs met to discuss the review completed by Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates and endorsed by Australian Rugby League Commission Chair John Grant, New South Wales Rugby League CEO David Trodden sent an email to the clubs outlining the "firm position" of his body. Queensland Rugby League Chair Bruce Hatcher also confirmed his state’s stance, "leaving hopes for a peaceful resolution to the game’s latest crisis in tatters." The states have the "ultimate power in negotiations given they were provided with veto rights over constitutional change as part of the independent commission’s formation," allowing them to "scupper any proposal and setting up a tense standoff pitting the QRL and NSWRL against the clubs aligned with the views of Coates and Grant." Trodden wrote, "It is not necessary to have six independent directors in a board of 10." He said that there was "no cogent reason why an existing director of the NSWRL or QRL could not be on the commission" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/9).
