Rugby league has broken out into a civil war with the NSW Rugby League launching Supreme Court action against the ARL Commission.
In the most drastic escalation so far of the feud between the game's governing body and most powerful state, lawyers from both parties will face off for a directions hearing on Wednesday in Sydney.
It comes two months after the NSWRL's controversial February elections, where Cronulla CEO Dino Mezzatesta was denied the right to run for the board due to a conflict of interest.
That prompted Nick Politis and George Peponis to quit the NSWRL board, and the ARL Commission to stop funding payments to the state body after orders to re-run the election were not adhered to..
The NSWRL has long maintained it was bound by its constitution to not let Mezzatesta run, and any re-election would in itself risk legal action from board members.
In turn, it has twice demanded that funding be paid since the initial deadline was missed, only for the ARL Commission to skip the monthly sum of around $1.75 million.
"Accordingly, it has become necessary for the board of directors of NSWRL to decide to take the only remaining action open to NSWRL to resolve this dispute," the NSWRL said on Friday.
"NSWRL has today commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, against the ARLC."
NSWRL officials confirmed that lawyers would argue that the ARLC had breached its own services agreement and constitution by not paying the funding.
It also wanted a declaration from the ARLC that there had been no breach by the NSWRL.
"As we have indicated in previous statements, it is a matter of the greatest regret for our organisation that NSWRL has been forced by ARLC into the position, where the only option open to NSWRL is to commence proceedings against ARLC," the NSWRL said.
