As Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant strolled past as part of a tour on Tuesday, he must have wondered into which category he will ultimately fall. Fourteen clubs want him gone as he attempts to engineer a solution to the funding crisis that has thrown the code into turmoil.

There's no such thing as a victimless crime. In this high-stakes game, either Grant will be shoved aside by a cartel of furious clubs which feel they have been betrayed by the commission, or the ringleaders must swallow some pride and accept a watered-down version of the original windfall, built on the back of the $1.8 billion broadcast deal.

On the Gold Coast, for a short time at least, Grant was able to put aside the rift and revel in some of the good work of the ARLC, as the Titans unveiled a $25 million elite training centre to rival anything in the NRL. It's a far cry from a tin shed at Carrara. Grant didn't miss the opportunity to remind those gathered in the belting sun on the new training field that he was enjoying a good news story.

"I am delighted to be here given the current circumstances," he told onlookers. "It's very nice to be at a place that has such hope, such promise and such positivity."

Hope. Promise. Positivity. All have been in desperately short supply since the now fateful meeting last week where the ARLC told clubs the money they had been told they could count on 12 months ago was now up for discussion.

But here was Grant putting not just the Titans on show but the work of the commission itself.

The commission, Grant said, stood for the struggling teams such as the Titans and Knights, not just the huge hitters such as Brisbane or the Bulldogs. The proof was in the pudding at Parkwood, a privately funded oasis where the Titans have finally found a permanent home.

There was no escaping the matters at hand, though. Grant was working overtime to convince the clubs to get back to the business of rugby league, although Fairfax Media understands that will only happen if he either steps down or returns to the initial deal, with the hope of scaling it down from there through further dialogue.

Privately, he has felt let down by some of the relationships he felt he had built over the years.

They have gone up in smoke within the space of a week. He believes the damage can be repaired, while hardline club warlords are in a far less forgiving mood.

"It's very disappointing. My relationships across this game last Tuesday was pretty sound, I think. It's disappointing to see the herd shifting in opinion," Grant said.

"You can try and conclude why that would be the case. But it is.

"I must admit, I do sit and think, 'I just don't understand this.' There's forces at work causing this shift in view of me. At the end of the day, the commission is the governing body and we'll make decisions in the best interests of the game."

There had been some suggestion that the Titans didn't want Grant there to open the new facility, for fear it would take away from the occasion. Titans chief executive Graham Annesley refused to buy into the lingering dispute, batting back questions from reporters as to whether he would support Grant if it came to a vote.

It's widely held that the Gold Coast and the Knights would abstain from any ballot.

Grant departed having won a minor PR battle, but still under siege from an armada of furious clubs that are not showing any signs of toning down the barrage.