‘Complete and utter rort’: Ex-Wests Tigers boss unloads on PNG... and cops stinging Luai clause comeback
The Papua New Guinea Chiefs have thrown a spanner in the works for the NRL’s player market, hitting back at criticism after former Wests Tigers boss Shane Richardson branded their tax-free salary advantage “a complete and utter rort”.
Jarome Luai’s highly-publicised announcement as player number 001 for the club raised plenty of eyebrows earlier in the week, some questioning the fairness of the Chiefs having a tax-free salary offering for players while the Perth Bears struggle to fill a roster ahead of their entry into the competition next season.
Clubs gave PNG approval for their tax-free benefit when they were announced as a new team last year and received $4 million each as part of the deal, but Luai’s move this week has prompted fresh concerns.
“It’s like cheating the salary cap by 48 per cent. It’s a complete and utter rort,” Richardson, who left the Tigers last year and was also formerly the NRL’s head of strategy, told
CODE Sports.
“At the end of the day, this tax-free rule was always going to cause problems and it makes it even worse for Perth who can’t do it – and they come in one year earlier.
“Jarome Luai didn’t go for the challenge. He went for the tax-free money in PNG.
“This is all about money. This is what I said from the beginning when the NRL made this deal with PNG for this ridiculous exemption in the salary cap where players could earn tax-free dollars.
“It’s completely and utterly unfair. Where in the world in any sport can this be a just deal ... that one club can have a tax-free environment and all other 18 clubs pay salaries that are taxed?”
Bulldogs GM and Channel 9 personality Phil Gould also voiced concerns, with untaxed third-party agreements another massive weapon for the Chiefs to lure talent.
“You can only pay so many players that amount of money, but the advantage is, of course, if it’s proven to be true that these are tax-free dollars, it virtually doubles the contract amount that they would normally earn in Australia,” Gould said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
“I think with PNG those [the third-party deals] will be endless. Absolutely endless.
“They’ll have six million members. I mean, it’s quite extraordinary what’ll go on up there commercially.”
Chiefs General Manager of Football Michael Chammas has dismissed claims around the club having an unfair advantage.
“To the people who are criticising us around having that advantage, I think it’s shortsighted because the game will benefit from having PNG thrive,” Chammas said.
“In the long-term if this works, it’s better for everyone in the game. To have a country with 10-12 million people, whose footy team is thriving, is what we want to achieve as a game.
“I can understand that clubs have self-interest in making sure they don’t lose players. It is bigger than that.”
Chammas confirming despite concerns, the tax-free break will not be going away any time soon either.
“The Australian government, the PNG government announced over a year ago their plans for it to be tax free,” he continued.
“That’s the undertaking and there’s no plans to go away from that. So, yeah, we’re completely comfortable in the place.”
Chammas later fired back at Richardson’s criticisms — and took a jab at the clause in Luai’s contract, implemented by ‘Richo’, that allowed the Chiefs to strike.
“I think it’s a badge of honour for us, to be honest with you, because I think a year ago people were saying… who’s going to go to Port Moresby? Why would you leave to go there? It’ll be a rabble, it’s a disgrace,” Chammas said on SEN.
“All these comments were being made around PNG, and all of a sudden after signing Jarome Luai, people are saying, ‘it’s unfair now’. So, the narrative has shifted in the space of 24-48 hours, and that’s just on the back of Jarome (Luai), and that’s obviously we’ve got Willie Peters there as well.
“So to us, it’s a badge of honour, that’s sort of a reflection of the person that we’ve brought in, that people are now sitting back and taking notice.
“I didn’t have an issue with what Gus (Gould) said. I don’t know what issue’s been made of what he said, so no issues whatsoever there.
“And look, Richo, we’re thankful because I guess there was a clause there that allowed us to get involved and have a chat with Jarome before April 30th. So it’s great that we were able to do so.”
‘Complete and utter rort’: Ex-Tigers boss unloads on PNG... and cops stinging Luai clause comeback
www.foxsports.com.au