Always next year 🐯
NRL seals revised pay deal with RLPA amid coronavirus uncertainty
Author
Dan Walsh & Zac Bailey
Timestamp
Thu 2 Apr 2020, 07:06 PM
The NRL has announced it has reached an agreement with the Rugby League Players’ Association on conditions for players following the unprecedented suspension of the Telstra Premiership due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and his RLPA counterpart Clint Newton met with player delegates from clubs on Thursday to finalise the deal.
Under the terms of the agreement, players will give up the final five months of their salary for the 2020 season due to the uncertainty caused by the spread of the virus and the impact it is having on the economy.
Canberra co-captain Jarrod Croker, one of the players who was part of the meeting on Thursday, was relieved the issue had been resolved.
“It’s obviously been a difficult time there for everyone. I know how hard the RLPA have been working. They’re bent over backwards for everyone really. It’s nice to have something finalised,” he said.
"The whole world is in the same boat, everyone’s struggling together. No one enjoys a pay cut. I’ve never met a bloke who wants to take a pay cut. For the sake of the club and the game it’s the way it has to be.
“It’s the way the world is. Everyone in every job is going to have to take a hit somewhere along the lines.”
Following the earlier announcement in the week that the NRL executive would be taking a 25 per cent pay cut, Greenberg “elected to take the same pay deal as the players” in a show of solidarity
@hobbo1 said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@WT2K said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
Peter V’Landys, how would you guys/gals rate his performance so far as chair?
The blokes a Dill but he’s a great administrator…if he ousts Toddy all the better …
Imagine Beattie during this crises
Shame he can’t pronounce the word Rugby …he pronounces it Rugba !
Yep, much more confident in PV in charge of Rugba League instead of that nuffie Beatie. Seems to be having jabs at toddy too which is nice to watch from the outside.
Peter V’Landys, how would you guys/gals rate his performance so far as chair?
@happy_tiger said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@WT2K said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@happy_tiger said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@Cultured_Bogan said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@jirskyr said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@Tiger_Steve said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
I’m sick of this mentality. If players want to leave - go!! They are overpaid as it is. Cut the crap out of salaries and get the blokes there for the right reason.
Also
Their petulance over current pay cuts does nothing to build their profile in the community.I can’t understand how some players are complaining about pay cuts, many already on handsome salaries, when most clubs have shown their non-player staff the door with immediate effect.
Thaaaaaaank you. Here’s BJ whinging about getting $200K instead of $500K or whatever he’s getting, meanwhile the Cougar, Barb, coaching staff, physios and front end all go home without pay.
Simple solution …Get KFC to become BJ’s TPA problem solved …KFC will go under though lol
Is it still open? Drive-thru? Kinda feel like a zinger burger now…
Drive Thru they throw it through your window as you drive past and you throw your money in the window like an automated tool booth
Zinger burger obtained! Fastest service I’ve got at my local one in years.
@happy_tiger said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@Cultured_Bogan said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@jirskyr said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
@Tiger_Steve said in Corona impact on NRL...?:
I’m sick of this mentality. If players want to leave - go!! They are overpaid as it is. Cut the crap out of salaries and get the blokes there for the right reason.
Also
Their petulance over current pay cuts does nothing to build their profile in the community.I can’t understand how some players are complaining about pay cuts, many already on handsome salaries, when most clubs have shown their non-player staff the door with immediate effect.
Thaaaaaaank you. Here’s BJ whinging about getting $200K instead of $500K or whatever he’s getting, meanwhile the Cougar, Barb, coaching staff, physios and front end all go home without pay.
Simple solution …Get KFC to become BJ’s TPA problem solved …KFC will go under though lol
Is it still open? Drive-thru? Kinda feel like a zinger burger now…
The Sydney Morning Herald
EXCLUSIVESPORTNRLNRL 2020
Government exemptions open door for NRL return
By Michael Chammas and Alexandra Smith
April 2, 2020 — 12.01am
Key government exemptions signed off late on Monday night have cleared the way for the NRL to explore an audacious bid to have the competition back up and running as early as next month.
The sweeping public health orders signed by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirm the new restrictions do not “prevent the conduct of events (such as sporting or racing events)”.
The NRL could be back as early as next month after key exemptions were signed off by NSW government on Monday.
The NRL could be back as early as next month after key exemptions were signed off by NSW government on Monday.
Photo: AAP
The exemption was noted with interest at rugby league headquarters, although a government source said the decision to suspend the competition had been the NRL’s, pointing out that racing had been able to continue in NSW.
The newly-formed NRL innovation committee, led by ARL commissioner Wayne Pearce, met for the first time on Wednesday morning and is working with government to map out a plan that could see the competition return weeks before the anticipated July 1 best-case scenario and save thousands of jobs across the sporting industry.
Operation Bubble, or Project Apollo as Pearce referred to the committee, would see teams potentially split into conferences across different isolated locations in NSW. The plan hinges on medical and expert advice the governing body is expecting in the next week in relation to the trend of coronavirus infection rates.
The NRL has noted that the number of new COVID-19 cases in Australia per day has actually decreased since it suspended the competition on Monday March 23, when 328 new cases were recorded.
Todd Greenberg and Peter V’landys last Monday, when they suspended the NRL competition.
Todd Greenberg and Peter V’landys last Monday, when they suspended the NRL competition.
Photo: AAP
On Monday and Tuesday this week, 271 and 299 new cases respectively were recorded, less than when the NRL acted on the advice of its pandemic and biosecurity expert - not the government - to stop the season.
The NRL innovation committee, which also includes the NRL’s Andrew Abdo, Graham Annesley and Liz Deegan - as well as Roosters coach Trent Robinson, Raiders chief executive Don Furner, RLPA boss Clint Newton and former deputy premier Troy Grant, will meet again next Thursday, when plans to restart the season in the coming weeks will be escalated.
“We want the competition up and running as soon as possible,” Pearce told the Herald. “That’s got to factor in player safety, community safety and a range of factors we need to consider. We are saying July 1, that is fixed in the ground and we are working towards that, but if we can make it happen sooner, we will.”
There is nothing stopping the NRL, under current NSW government rules, from restarting its competition immediately in one state, although the NRL is keen to ensure a resumption does not cause any concern for the broader community.
As it stands, the Warriors aren’t allowed in the country, although the NRL is still working with New Zealand government to determine whether the team would be able to travel across the ditch if the players self-isolated for 14 days.
The Queensland government, which has shut its borders, is allowing people to travel in and out of the state for work purposes and the NRL is in discussions to gain clarity on whether it would be able to bring 13 teams into a centralised Queensland location, casting doubt over the Gladstone proposal.
While the NRL is sensitive to the situation confronting most of its fans during the global pandemic, strict testing and quarantine measures are being planned to ensure that players would be safer in a “bubble” environment and pose no risk to the community.
“We are working out ways to get a bubble over all the players,” Pearce said. “Whether that’s in one position or one location versus multiple locations and a slightly different structure. The work streams we are working through cover a whole range of different scenarios. Part of the work we’re doing is around clarifying protocols we need to adhere to with government. It’s challenging but we want the game to return as soon as possible.”
The NRL is also waiting on clarification in regards to the 1.5-metre social distancing. Clearly, the sport would not be able to adhere to that restriction, but in a boost for the game’s of hopes of returning it has been noted that jockeys in racing are within the threshold at the barriers and at times during races.