The NRL, which has bankrolled the Knights since the demise of Nathan Tinkler in 2014, launched a sales process in September by calling for expressions of interest and appointing Tony Garrett, the head of mergers and acquisitions at Deloitte Australia, to broker a deal.

But despite approaches from 17 entities, several based overseas, NRL officials were not satisfied any could meet the criteria for sustainable long-term governance.

Two parties remain in contention, but have been told to reconsider their bids and reapply if they can address shortcomings identified by the NRL.

“The NRL are not going to be spooked into a sale,’’ NRL head of club and state services Tony Crawford told the Herald.

“We’re going to hang about for the right ownership structure for this club.

“The ARL Commission’s position is that we’ve invested heavily in this club, both in terms of time and financially, and a short-cut will hurt us all.

“The Commission’s position is that they’re not prepared to take a short-cut. It’s not a case of finding an owner, it’s a case of finding the right owner.’’

Crawford said the Knights remained “actively for sale” and he was hopeful the two entities still in contention would submit improved business plans for consideration.

He said expressions of interest had come from as far afield as America, England, China and Papua New Guinea, but added that the NRL was “disappointed with the level of interest we received locally’’.

“There was substantive interest but we got to a final position where there were two prospective, viable parties,’’ Crawford said.

“But in the fullness of time, we just couldn’t get satisfied that they met our criteria.

“So we’ve asked them to work harder to meet the criteria … we’ll continue to work with them, and they may or may not be successful.

“In the meantime, the league remains committed to Newcastle and will continue to support it financially.

“It’s business as usual for the NRL and the Knights’ board.’’

Crawford said the NRL and Knights management would now draft up a business plan for the club for the next three years – although any privatisation bids would continue to be evaluated.

The NRL had been seeking an estimated fee of at least $10 million for Newcastle’s franchise.

Crawford said the NRL’s main concerns about the unsuccessful parties had related to “non-financial” issues.

Asked if Newcastle’s poor on-field performances for the past seasons had been a deterrent, Crawford replied: “Not necessarily.’’

He confirmed that the Wests Group, as expected, had not been among the parties to join the tender process.