Titans sat on the brink of extinction ARL Commission chairman John Grant has provided a rare insight into the drama-filled months that saved the Gold Coast Titans from extinction, admitting the game would have struggled to financially prop up the club had fresh investment not been found. Grant's first year in charge was consumed to a large extent by dealing with the Titans' well-documented financial problems, which were resolved only when the club received a major injection of cash last year. As the Titans buckled under financial strain caused by investment in the Centre of Excellence, the game was forced to prepare contingency plans that would have resulted in the commission taking over the Titans. Eventually, the club's owner Michael Searle found the money he needed to save the club, although it meant forming a new entity and giving up a large chunk of his shareholding to investors Darryl Kelly and Anshuman Magazine. Searle remains the majority owner -- he owns 39 per cent of the club's shares, with the remainder divided between Kelly (32 per cent) and Magazine (29 per cent). More importantly, the club is now on a secure financial footing and focus has returned to the football field, where the Titans have enjoyed a winning start to the season. "I think there is no doubt that when we were first confronted with it early last year, when we first started, that we didn't have any commitment in terms of the new broadcast rights," Grant said. But we looked at the downside as being very, very significant. It gave us great concern that if we had to step in and keep a team going on the Gold Coast, we didn't have the funds to do that. It was a very difficult situation. I just think the process that we went through ensured we got the right outcome for the new club and got the right people involved in that. There is no doubt these sort of issues affect players and players' attitude and therefore club performance and morale. I think that's what you're seeing now. I think you're seeing a performance which is due to the footy team itself being able to get on with its job. The club is also enjoying rewards off the field. Chief executive David May revealed yesterday the Titans' financial position was so strong it would rank among the top three or four clubs in the competition in terms of sustainability. "That's a combination of the investment that's been made as well as some big strides in sponsorship this year," May said. The only negative has been the small crowds at Skilled Park, although May expects more than 20,000 for tonight's game against the Brisbane Broncos. "When I first joined I thought we would be able to say the past was the past," said May, who became chief executive last year. People take a bit of convincing. They need a bit of time. Trust comes slowly. We're just starting to rebuild that. There's a real buzz here about the Titans. Grant will be at Skilled Park tonight and he shudders to think what would have happened had the Titans not been able to emerge from the financial mire. "It's a new entity," Grant said. It's a new stand-alone football club not encumbered by any of the other trusts that operate and fully capitalised.