Gold Coast Titans founder Michael Searle has opened up on what it has taken to keep the embattled club alive since its inception.

Speaking to The Courier-Mail, Searle said that the fight to keep the club alive had been a grueling one.

“The game can’t expect these private people to continue funding rugby league’s fight against the AFL forever,” he said.

“The Titans runs on one of the smallest budgets in the NRL and we have no leagues club support so it’s really tough and we shouldn’t just expect the management, staff and the players to be able to sustain that effort forever.”

Searle told The Courier-Mail that $22million had been poured into the franchise.

Investors who have lost everything:
Michael Searle $3.2million
Surfing champion Joel Parkinson $566,000
Darryl Kelly $5.3million
Anshuman Magazine $1.5million