In a move that could have a huge impact on the game's constitutional reform, the most supported candidate to represent the NRL teams on a new-look ARL Commission has informed club chairs he may no longer put his hand up for the role.
The highly regarded Dennis Watt, who has unanimous support from the clubs as one of two club-appointed directors to join the commission next year, is weighing up his future in the game.
NRL.com understands the outgoing Brisbane Broncos chairman is waiting to find out the new ownership structure of the Gold Coast Titans, with the potential of being appointed the chair of the club if the consortium led by Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly ends up owning the club.
Watt, who is likely to base his next decision on where he believes he can have the biggest impact on the sport, has a close relationship with Frizelle and is believed to be waiting for the NRL to announce the Titans' new owners before deciding which role he will take.
Watt was favoured to join Racing NSW boss Peter V'landys as the two club-appointed directors on the newly formed commission likely to be elected in January.
Some clubs had already raised question marks over having a candidate with no NRL club experience, like V'landys, representing them, and uncertainty surrounding Watt's future will only add to the conjecture.
The clubs have until January 19 to nominate their two directors to join the ARL Commision, with 10 of 16 clubs needing to agree on a candidate before they are able to join.
