By STAFF REPORTERS
The troubled Auckland Warriors face the axe from the National Rugby League competition, Australian television reported last night.
The reports, backed up by sources close to the club, claimed that the Warriors could be ousted from the NRL as early as today.
The NRL have been keeping a close eye on the financially troubled club.
At the same time, minority shareholders Graham Lowe and Malcolm Boyle have launched another bid to take control, offering to buy the club, which carries a debt of around $6.2 million, for $1.
The pair have served notice on the two-thirds shareholder, Tainui, and a liquidator acting for one of their creditors, that they wish to pursue a clause that promises them full ownership of the club if their tribal partner is in financial trouble.
The action relates to a Hamilton High Court hearing on August 7, when the court ordered the tribal investment arm, MDC, into liquidation over an unpaid debt of $690,000 owed to the ASB Bank.
The original sale-and-purchase agreement that Lowe and Boyle signed with Tainui and the Auckland Rugby League states that if either of the two shareholder groups is in liquidation for 30 days or more, that shareholder's chunk of the club must be offered to the other party "at current valuation."
"We don't think it is worth any more than that [$1] given the state of the place," Boyle said.
"The Warriors was a viable going concern when we got the chop in February and now it's not."
The action was designed to help to achieve a sale that would bring in a business partner with the capital to clear the debt and lift the club back to being competitive, he said.
There was no mention of the Yes Group, which had a previous agreement with Lowe and Boyle, but the action looks to have their hand in it.
The court-appointed liquidator, Anthony McCullagh, of Auckland firm Horworth Corporate, last night said he was taking separate action to gain control of the debenture over the club.
Mr McCullagh said three days before MDC was placed in liquidation on August 7, MDC transferred the Warriors' debenture to another company, Tainui Group Ltd, in a "very cynical manipulation" for $1.
"There has been no value whatsoever given to the value of the brand, the goodwill in New Zealand from the Auckland Rugby League Club and the value of the licence from the NRL.
"As the liquidator of MDC, I'm saying this is not good enough.
"I am making an application to court to set aside the transfer of that debenture to Tainui Group Holdings and bring it back within my control so I can deal with the asset."
The New Zealand Rugby League was bemused by yesterday's moves and is now considering pulling out of any association with the club.
It has an offer before Tainui to take up shareholding in partnership with a business conglomerate and has been waiting two weeks for the National Rugby League in Australia to approve the proposed ownership change and a transfer of the club licence.
Chairman Gerald Ryan said he was increasingly led to the belief that the NRL was nervous that South Sydney would be readmitted to the competition by a court-enforced order and that the NRL would then find financial reasons to drop the Warriors.
"They've been prevaricating for nearly two weeks and it can't just roll on.
"We've done our best to sort things out. We're very disappointed," Ryan said, suggesting that the NZRL board would consider one last-ditch effort and if that was pushed ahead, he would go to Sydney next week to resolve issues.
Rugby League: NRL poised to axe the Warriors
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