17 May 2014

Knights in turmoil

12:41 pm on 17 May 2014

The National Rugby League's vowed to take action after the Newcastle Knights failed to pay the salaries of at least 20 Knights staff and players on Friday.

NRL boss Dave Smith says they'll take whatever action is necessary to protect the Knights, the game and, most importantly, the players and staff.

The Knights are in turmoil with owner Nathan Tinkler's business group advising the NRL they would not invest further funds into the club until the current ownership dispute was resolved.

Former billionaire Tinkler's ownership of the Knights has been in jeopardy since he was unable to secure a mandatory $11.4 million bank guarantee by March as part of the terms of his 2011 takeover deal.

His failure to provide the guarantee also meant the Knights Members Club could buy the club back from Tinkler's Hunter Sports Group for one Australian dollar, which it's believed the Members Club has served notice of its intention to do.