The man behind the latest bid to buy out the Gold Coast Titans from the NRL has been revealed to be John Bridgeman managing director Stuart McAuliffe according to The Australian.

And McAuliffe isn’t mincing his words when it comes to rugby league’s competitor in south-east Queensland – the AFL.

“We’ll augment management skills and experience and provide financial stability and capital to grow the organisation and brand,” he told The Australian.

“The Gold Coast is a rugby league heartland so we intend to crush the AFL in the region. They’ll need to put up a lot of funding to even try to compete with us.

“Our emphasis is on local talent and community engagement and a lot of funding is heading that way. So if you are playing rugby league on the Gold Coast your ­opportunities and funding have just dramatically increased.”

The NRL is likely to making a decision on ownership in the coming weeks.