From Brent Read of the Australian.
Rogue NRL player could cause a meltdown
The delicate nature of rugby league’s pay talks have been laid bare after a leading sports lawyer warned that one rogue player had the capacity to send the entire system into meltdown.
Tim Fuller, former South Sydney forward turned special counsel with Gadens Lawyers, has been watching negotiations between the NRL and Rugby League Players Association with particularly interest given his connection to the game.
Those talks continued on Sunday as ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg hosted a teleconference with more than 50 players, among them Cronulla captain Wade Graham and Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans.
It is understood South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly and his Brisbane counterpart Paul White were also involved in the conversation, helping to shed some light on the devastating impact of COVID-19 on clubland.
Brisbane have been left with little choice but to hand redundancies to more than 20 staff while employees at Souths will soon go on leave without pay, among them seven-time premiership winning coach Wayne Bennett.
The NRL has also been forced to shed costs – Greenberg is among those expected to take time off to help ease the financial burden. The players understand that they must also carry some of the pain and while it is understood there is an appetite to reach an agreement on pay cuts, there is also a degree of distrust between the playing group and NRL headquarters.
At the heart of that is the belief among the players that the NRL has not been as transparent as it could have been, that situation highlighted by the failure to pay $10m into the insurance fund.
Their mood would not have been improved after seeing reports that head office had spent $182m running the game. That figure did not include the $40m or so head office spent on development.
The players want greater insight into the game’s finances and it is understood they could receive their wish as part of an agreement to reduce their wages over the remainder of the season.
V’landys remains confident the game will strike a deal that will get the game through until the end of the year, with or without the competition returning at some point.
Next year and the year after are an argument for another day. Some within the game believe the salary cap can stay at the same figure – the base for 2021 for each team is $9.7m. Others believe it needs to be dramatically slashed. If that is to happen it will rely on the largesse of the players, who need to agree to any change in the cap for 2021 and 2022. One player and one player alone could be enough to create chaos.
“(Gold Coast forward) Jai Arrow is a good example,” Fuller said. “With what he signed for at Souths, there are considerations to go around that. If his contract was to be reduced, he would have a very good case to say essentially there has been opportunity lost.
“There are all these other considerations that come into play. Ultimately you may very well see a player challenge any attempt to water down his contract.
“In the current environment no one will be talking like that. When football is back on and there is a different environment … there are absolutely no guarantees that any player won’t do anything at any time. The only way that you would get that of course is if the players’ association and the NRL have an agreement in which every single player through the association agrees to declare all contracts null and void or take a percentage reduction.
“That would have to be a collective across-the-league decision. The moment that one player challenges that, then all bets are off aren’t they? I draw a comparison with the draft. It only takes one player, like Terry Hill, to challenge what has been agreed to.”
Therein lies the fear for the NRL. While they are confident the RLPA is on board – talks have thus far been amicable – the landscape could dramatically change if a player was to break away and pursue his own legal recourse. V’landys hopes to have a response from the players on Monday morning – he has talks with the clubs later on Monday before a meeting of the ARL Commission where he hopes to rubberstamp the financials.
“Take Jason Taumalolo, how many years does he have left on his contract?” Fuller said.
“Daly Cherry-Evans, how many years does he have? You take those long-term contracts, the only way you are going to get a reduction is they agree to it.”
“It is going to take a collective effort. At the moment, in the current climate, no-one is saying the terms of my contract are very clear.
“But fast forward six months when the finances of the game are known and things kick off again, it could be entirely different ball game.”
Rogue NRL player could cause a meltdown
The delicate nature of rugby league’s pay talks have been laid bare after a leading sports lawyer warned that one rogue player had the capacity to send the entire system into meltdown.
Tim Fuller, former South Sydney forward turned special counsel with Gadens Lawyers, has been watching negotiations between the NRL and Rugby League Players Association with particularly interest given his connection to the game.
Those talks continued on Sunday as ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg hosted a teleconference with more than 50 players, among them Cronulla captain Wade Graham and Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans.
It is understood South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly and his Brisbane counterpart Paul White were also involved in the conversation, helping to shed some light on the devastating impact of COVID-19 on clubland.
Brisbane have been left with little choice but to hand redundancies to more than 20 staff while employees at Souths will soon go on leave without pay, among them seven-time premiership winning coach Wayne Bennett.
The NRL has also been forced to shed costs – Greenberg is among those expected to take time off to help ease the financial burden. The players understand that they must also carry some of the pain and while it is understood there is an appetite to reach an agreement on pay cuts, there is also a degree of distrust between the playing group and NRL headquarters.
At the heart of that is the belief among the players that the NRL has not been as transparent as it could have been, that situation highlighted by the failure to pay $10m into the insurance fund.
Their mood would not have been improved after seeing reports that head office had spent $182m running the game. That figure did not include the $40m or so head office spent on development.
The players want greater insight into the game’s finances and it is understood they could receive their wish as part of an agreement to reduce their wages over the remainder of the season.
V’landys remains confident the game will strike a deal that will get the game through until the end of the year, with or without the competition returning at some point.
Next year and the year after are an argument for another day. Some within the game believe the salary cap can stay at the same figure – the base for 2021 for each team is $9.7m. Others believe it needs to be dramatically slashed. If that is to happen it will rely on the largesse of the players, who need to agree to any change in the cap for 2021 and 2022. One player and one player alone could be enough to create chaos.
“(Gold Coast forward) Jai Arrow is a good example,” Fuller said. “With what he signed for at Souths, there are considerations to go around that. If his contract was to be reduced, he would have a very good case to say essentially there has been opportunity lost.
“There are all these other considerations that come into play. Ultimately you may very well see a player challenge any attempt to water down his contract.
“In the current environment no one will be talking like that. When football is back on and there is a different environment … there are absolutely no guarantees that any player won’t do anything at any time. The only way that you would get that of course is if the players’ association and the NRL have an agreement in which every single player through the association agrees to declare all contracts null and void or take a percentage reduction.
“That would have to be a collective across-the-league decision. The moment that one player challenges that, then all bets are off aren’t they? I draw a comparison with the draft. It only takes one player, like Terry Hill, to challenge what has been agreed to.”
Therein lies the fear for the NRL. While they are confident the RLPA is on board – talks have thus far been amicable – the landscape could dramatically change if a player was to break away and pursue his own legal recourse. V’landys hopes to have a response from the players on Monday morning – he has talks with the clubs later on Monday before a meeting of the ARL Commission where he hopes to rubberstamp the financials.
“Take Jason Taumalolo, how many years does he have left on his contract?” Fuller said.
“Daly Cherry-Evans, how many years does he have? You take those long-term contracts, the only way you are going to get a reduction is they agree to it.”
“It is going to take a collective effort. At the moment, in the current climate, no-one is saying the terms of my contract are very clear.
“But fast forward six months when the finances of the game are known and things kick off again, it could be entirely different ball game.”
