South Sydney are set to become the most powerful sporting club in the country, after James Packer joined Russell Crowe as a co-owner of the NRL premiers on Thursday.

Packer has bought out Peter Holmes a Court’s 37.5 per cent share in the Rabbitohs, to assume ownership with Crowe who took over following a membership vote in 2006.

The club’s financial clout will now be unrivalled in Australian sport and rugby league’s most popular club is set to challenge AFL giant Collingwood as the nation’s most prominent sporting outfit.

A former board member with the Rabbitohs’ bitter arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters, Packer happily confirmed over a year of speculation in a Rabbitohs media release.

‘‘This is a very proud day for my family,’’ Packer said in the statement.

‘‘My father had a long history and association with Souths and to now be a co-owner with Russell Crowe and the members is an honour and a privilege.

‘‘I am hopeful that working together with Russell, Souths Chairman Nick Pappas and CEO Shane Richardson, we can win more premierships for the fans, secure the club’s long term financial future and in time establish Souths as Australia’s number one football club; with the biggest supporter base for all codes.

‘‘Can I put on record my gratitude to Peter Holmes a Court for the outstanding work he has done at Souths over many years and wish him well for the future.’’

The other 25 per cent of the club is owned by South Sydney Members Rugby League Football Club and the Rabbitohs statement said the new ownership structure would not affect the team’s name, logo, colours, jersey and choice of home ground.

Rabbitohs chairman Nick Pappas said Packer’s involvement with Souths ensures the club’s long term viability.

Packer’s casino venture Crown Resorts assumed the Rabbitohs major jumper sponsorship at the start of this year in a three-year deal.

‘‘I join with the Rabbitohs’ senior management team, our staff and our members in welcoming James Packer to the Rabbitohs family,’’ Pappas said in the statement.

‘‘We promised some years ago to deliver sustained on-field success and the first chapter of that story was written on 5 October 2014 with our 21st premiership.

‘‘We also promised to connect our great club with the highest echelons of Australia’s business community so that its longevity could be ensured for decades to come.’’

Multi-millionaire Rick Penn has purchased his co-owner’s share in the Manly Sea Eagles, a move likely to have significant ramifications for the retention of key players and staff at the NRL club, including star forward Anthony Watmough.

Penn now owns 90 per cent of the Sea Eagles, after buying out co-owners Quantum in a deal estimated at around $6 million late on Wednesday night.

Manly have been troubled by internal strife for several years now and the Penn buy-out is set to put an end to that.

The Penn family announced on Thursday they had agreed to terms with the Quantum Group to buy their stake in the Sea Eagles effective immediately.

‘‘We want to thank The Quantum Group for their contribution to the Sea Eagles over the past three years and their major sponsorship prior to that,’’ Scott Penn said in a club statement.

‘‘We acknowledge that the past couple of years off the field have been difficult, however we are committed to ensuring the Sea Eagles are a world-class organisation under consolidated ownership.

‘‘There are a number of exciting initiatives which we will be announcing over the coming weeks to ensure our members are as excited as we are about 2015.’’

Restless representative forward Watmough has been strongly linked to an exit from Brookvale, due to the continued fallout from the unpopular decision from Sea Eagles management not to offer Glenn Stewart a new contract earlier this year.

Watmough is also understood to be at loggerheads with general manager David Perry.

The 31-year-old Watmough remains under contract at Manly until the end of next year, but speculation has been fierce he could exit before the start of the 2015 NRL season, with Parramatta rumoured to be a likely new home.

But following the ownership shake-up Watmough could pledge his future to Manly, the club he has won two premierships with.

AAP