After finalising a record $1.8billion broadcast rights deal with Channel Nine, News Corp and Telstra, Grant will attend a meeting next Wednesday with club chairs who now expect the ARLC will meet their demands for grants equalling 130 per cent of the salary cap and a 52 per cent share of the game's revenue.

The clubs claim they need the increased funding to overcome combined losses of between $30million and $40 million but Grant disputed the way those figures were calculated as some receive grants of up to $5 million per season from their leagues clubs.

"That number is not right," Grant said. "That does not take into account that a number of our clubs are provided with leagues club grants that actually make up the difference and the leagues clubs are very strong clubs at the moment and that is the business model.

"There are clubs that are privately owned that rely on private enterprise funds coming in, there are clubs that are community owned and there are clubs that are leagues club driven. That is just different business models, all of which need to be recognised as factual, so when you take that into account the number of $40 million is just not right."

Grant's comments will do little to endear him to those leading the charge to oust him from the ARLC but the huge broadcast deal is likely to ensure there will be insufficient support among the clubs for such a move.

Grant said the management of clubs had improved significantly since the ARLC took control of the game from News Corp four years ago but he acknowledged that not everyone was happy with the changes. "The commission was bought together at a time that marked a very significant point of change and change is difficult," he said. "It is difficult for people who are responsible for enacting that change and it is difficult for the people who are part of that change, and this will go on for some time.

"We are changing the culture of this game. That is the secret to this game being long-term sustainable so our job as a commission is to make sure that independent of all of our stakeholder choices we make decisions that balance all of that out. I am not the slightest bit fearful about that, nor is the commission. The commission is totally lined up around making the right decisions ...  for the good of the game."

Meanwhile, Grant said interviews for a new CEO to replace Dave Smith, who resigned last month, have not yet begun. Catherine Harris, a foundation director of the ARLC, is heading  a sub-committee to oversee the search  but Grant said there was no deadline for an appointment.