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The New Zealand Rugby League will meet its gaming trust backers this week to seek assurance of future financing after being put on notice by Sparc that the government sports body is not happy with its governance.
NZRL manager Peter Cordtz said the league was surprised at the timing of the criticism from Sparc, given the work that was under way to repair the organisation as suggested in a review already conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
"A lot of what they say needs addressing is already being addressed. There is a constitutional review under way, a meeting of districts representatives was planned to discuss governance," he said.
The new board is about to appoint three independent directors as recommended by the Institute of Directors.
Applications for chief executive closed on Friday with "solid" interest and the CVs will be reviewed by a recruitment service before a shortlist is suggested to the board.
Sparc contacted the NZRL last week expressing concern about the running of league.
The funding body wants to run a full inquiry into the state of the game and could withhold cash from the NZRL.
"While [Sparc] are openly disappointed and say recommendations from that review have not been followed, we're not sure they are up to speed with what has been implemented," Cordtz said.
"We don't think they are fully aware of what has been going on."
The signing of new sponsor Pirtek and the determination to secure the release of Super League players had both been positive outcomes and a signal of better management Cordtz said.
The league had urged Sparc to sit down and discuss its concerns and believed that was going to happen so was surprised when confronted with the organisation's demands.
The first opportunity for Sparc to address the board was at its next meeting on May 21, by when the independents should be selected.
