Smith was ruled ineligible to stand as a candidate because he was considered a paid employee of the organisation due to ambassadorial work undertaken at the club.

The elections were run without him and a ticket led by chairman Steve Sharp retained power in a strong endorsement of the incumbent board. Since then, the Eels have been pinged for repeated salary cap breaches, which have led to a $525,000 fine and the prospect of starting next year's competition four points in arrears, as well as revelations that absurd clauses inserted into the contract of prospective signing Kieran Foran threaten to scupper the deal.

Should Smith be successful – the matter is set down for a Supreme Court directions hearing on July 6 – the elections and associated madness will be on all over again.

It's fair to assume that, given the recent dramas, the current board would be very nervous indeed if there were a revote. The biennial election cycle brings out the worst in the blue and golds, pitting factions and former clubmen against each other in a sea of negativity.

An uneasy truce between candidates representing former powerbrokers Denis Fitzgerald and Roy Spagnolo meant most members didn't know who the majority of candidates were standing for the last time around.

NRL rights to go digital

The future is digital and the NRL won't be left behind. We revealed last week that the governing body is in discussions with Facebook, but other popular social platforms have also been approached as part of the broadcast rights negotiations.

"You would be foolish if you weren't thinking about digital rights, for any entertainment product, whether it be a newspaper or a TV broadcaster, and we aren't being foolish," NRL chief executive Dave Smith said.

"We're not being faddish on any of these things, but what we know is that families watching at home are watching it on second and third screens. If they're not at home, they are out doing other things and watching it on second or third screens.

"Telephones are not telephones anymore, they are data engines and we recognise that. We are talking to lots of partners about the future and we will continue to do that because in 10 years time the way a fan consumes rugby league – and all the things around rugby league – it won't be the way they do it today."

Coote on Manly's radar

Manly remain hopeful Kieran Foran will stay put, but one of the potential pivots they've identified if he doesn't is Lachlan Coote. Coote was a player of interest for the Sea Eagles when Foran initially signed with Parramatta after Coote made a successful return from a series of injuries for North Queensland.

Although Coote has played almost his entire NRL career at fullback, he is also an accomplished five-eighth and would be a handy foil for Daly Cherry-Evans on the off chance the Cowboys would be prepared to let him go.

Toovey closer to Kangaroos

We revealed a fortnight ago that Geoff Toovey is a strong chance of becoming the next Kangaroos coach and the word is the move is a very real chance of happening.

Tim Sheens won't be at the helm after the Kangaroos suffered their third straight loss to the Kiwis, losing their No.1 ranking in the process. Toovey is a dead man walking at Manly and it's only a matter of time before he is officially axed.

There was some thought about announcing it on or around Origin III to mitigate the bad press that would accompany the sacking of a club legend. Sea Eagles powerbroker Bob Fulton is also an Australian selector and the appointment of "Toovs" as the national coach would allow them to continue to work together.

Penrith assistant Trent Barrett has been on gardening leave waiting for the Sea Eagles to pull the trigger, although Toovey will likely dig in until the end of the season.

Mata'utia snubs Gold Coast

Peter Mata'utia had agreed to terms to join the Gold Coast, but an 11th-hour meeting with St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor convinced him to stay put.

The Titans, still smarting from the Daly Cherry-Evans backflip, finally thought they'd had a win in the recruitment stakes with Mata'utia. But just as he was about to put pen to paper on his move north, a meeting with McGregor changed everything. The man dubbed "Mary" personally entered negotiations for the first time and convinced the utility back he was a valued member of the Red V – and ensured an attractive three-year deal was tabled to make the point. It was what Mata'utia needed to hear and the Titans again missed out on their man.

Sandow loves "Godzilla"

Chris Sandow infamously crashed a Holden he was test driving on the day of Parramatta's first clash with Melbourne, but we reckon those wheels would be a downgrade when compared to his current vehicle. The out-of-favour Eels halfback is getting around in his beloved Nissan Skyline GTR i35, which he dubs "Godzilla".

"I was just test driving [the Holden], it was something different," Sandow said during THAT interview.

"But I would never get rid of this car, it's my dream car, I always wanted one. They call it king of the road."

Interchange rule to hit Origin

Much has been said about the effect that a drop in the interchange will have on the NRL, but what about State of Origin? The interstate series is already the fastest, most brutal sport of all and a drop – particularly if it comes down to six – would mean the game's elite will have to go harder for longer.

While Origin players are already the fittest in the game, there is the possibility that a reduction could result in some of the older forwards retiring from representative football quicker than would otherwise have been the case. However, NSW coach Laurie Daley believes the vast majority will adapt.

"It will have a massive change over the game itself," Daley said before the start of the current series.

"The thing with interchange is players can do it, but they've been trained not to do it.

"We've got to retrain them and once you do that they will be able to handle it. It may take 12 months but I'm sure a lot of those players will be able to punch out minutes if required."

Raiders looking at Vaivai

Canberra is on the lookout for a prop to replace Gold Coast-bound David Shillington and Newcastle's Paterika Vaivai has piqued their interest. Vaivai, off contract at the end of the season, has been solid in his NRL appearances to date and made 26 tackles and 10 runs for 105 metres in 42 minutes against the Broncos on Friday in a badly beaten team.