This includes the NRL-owned Titans and Knights in a sign of how frustrated clubs have become with Grant's officialdom.   

He needed four votes to remain but fell well short.

Traditionally faction-oriented, rarely has the code seen such solidarity from clubs.

Calls for his sacking follow Wednesday’s chairperson’s meeting when Grant revealed he would not be honouring a promise to pay clubs 30 per cent more than the salary cap following the NRL’s new $1.8 billion TV deal.

It is a slap in the face to the clubs from Grant who actually announced the promise at a press conference last year.

Clubs still do not know how much the salary cap will be for 2018 leading to unrest in the player market.

NRL boss Todd Greenberg said the backflip on funding was due to a downturn in junior participation with a need to invest at grassroots level.   

"We've got some concerns about where we're heading," Greenberg said at Thursday’s 2017 NRL draw launch.

"We've got to think very carefully about our strategy and where we apply funds. Whether it's in regional areas in the bush or the city areas, we've got to be very, very careful about what we do next."