But, but, Paul Kent said clubs are sided with the RLPA against the NRL....
Referring to Prendergast, who was previously a senior executive in the AFLPA, one club boss said
: "He will f--k rugby league and return to Melbourne as a conquering hero on a lifetime AFL pension."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ing-partnership-with-nrl-20170614-gwr0u5.html
For those who want to read without clicking on the link.
Rugby League Players Association appear focused on a governing partnership with NRL
When the RLPA lodged a 65-page document with the NRL, ahead of the current collective bargaining agreement negotiations, two demands – a free subscription to Foxtel at the players' union's Homebush headquarters and hosting and hospitality rights at every NRL game – sent club executives into a rage.
"It's not the first time I've heard this," RLPA chief executive Ian Prendergast said when contacted about the fury over the claim, defending it on the basis that players like to watch Fox Sports while they are waiting in the foyer of the Homebush office and that RLPA board members should be able to watch games from the comfort of a catered box because they provide their services for free.
The Foxtel/corporate box demands, as well as a request for 1000 grand final tickets, are likely to shift to the bottom of what the NRL describe as an ambit claim, with the
RLPA document suggesting the players' union is more focused on establishing a governing partnership with the NRL.
Under the sub heading, "Agreement and Consultation Rights and Obligations", the RLPA says it expects the NRL to consult in relation to "Strategic Plans, Government and Constitutional Changes, Club Licensing and funding arrangements, Commercial arrangements ..."
Other areas of joint decision-making, such as "NRL Competition Draw, Rules of the Game, NRL Appeals Process ..." are understandable.
Prendergast said, "we're not asking for carte blanche rights", pointing out the RLPA is entitled to question the length of an NRL season, given its impact on players' health and safety.
"The other agreement rights impact on a player's employment," he adds.
The RLPA is seeking 29 per cent of total game revenue, including Leagues Club funding, from which it is demanding a $5 million payment to finance its administration, removing the current obligation on clubs to pay players' RLPA annual subscriptions from the salary cap.
NRL clubs suspect player-managers are behind the provocative document, claiming a cabal of prominent agents have allied themselves with the RLPA at a time when the NRL is poised to expel six or seven of them from the game for their role in the Parramatta salary cap scandal.
The NRL administration, which has only one vote on the Agent Accreditation Committee, needs the support of the RLPA to move against the guilty agents.
The RLPA document proposes "the Agent Accreditation Scheme be managed and administered by the RLPA", rather than the NRL.
Another RLPA demand is that it "be notified, at the same time as the player, and provided with related intelligence regarding any investigation into player incident/behaviour".
Clubs perceive this as a move by player-managers to control the investigation/punishment.
Asked what role the player managers had in the RLPA claim, Prendergast, a lawyer, sounded like a graduate from the Harvard Business School, saying: "There was comprehensive stakeholder involvement in the process. We consulted with a range of people in the industry plus we consulted with other sports."
Yes, but what role did the agents play?
"To say one stakeholder has had a dominant impact is to trivialise the whole consultative process designed to lift professional standards across the board."
The language of some of the NRL club officials is less convoluted.
Referring to Prendergast, who was previously a senior executive in the AFLPA, one club boss said: "He will f--k rugby league and return to Melbourne as a conquering hero on a lifetime AFL pension."
Told of this accusation, Prendergast exuded a Zen-like calm, saying: "It's not about me. We've got a strong governance process in place. I take directions from a board, including [Australian captain] Cameron Smith and our independent directors."
True. Smith and other player representatives, such as NSW's James Maloney, have been very vocal in their support, although clubs question whether many players have actually read the 65-page RLPA document.
Yet, there is little doubt the majority of players will break free of their traditional lethargy towards the union and back Prendergast.
After all, footballers of all codes have been taught at a very early age that the root of all evil is poverty.
