Eels half in limbo until bets probe ends
THE Parramatta football club is taking a "wait-and-see" approach until a NSW police betting investigation into the August 21 match between North Queensland and the Bulldogs is completed before deciding on any disciplinary action after rookie halfback Brad Murray was drawn into the scandal.
The club has confirmed that Murray, 20, was the man shown placing a bet on the match on August 19 in CCTV footage released by NSW police investigators on Thursday.
CCTV footage captured Murray, who previously played with the Bulldogs and Roosters, placing a number of bets at a hotel TAB outlet in Sydney's western suburbs.
"I've spoken to him and have encouraged him to fully co-operate with the police," Eels chief executive Paul Osborne told The Weekend Australian yesterday. "At this stage he has not been interviewed or presented himself to police."
Officers attached to the NSW State Crime Command Casino and Racing Investigation unit, under the command of Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, are understood to be keen to talk to a second man, "a person of interest" in connection to the placing of a number of novelty bets.
The fact that a penalty goal as the first scoring play -- normally a low interest option for punters -- was so heavily backed, convinced bookmakers to stop betting on the option several hours before kick-off.
Supt Katsogiannis said he remained optimistic the investigation would uncover the truth behind the betting plunge that went wrong.
The Cowboys were awarded a penalty in the opening minutes of the first half and in position to kick for goal after Bulldogs forward Ryan Tandy was penalised in the second minute of the game. But the team opted for a quick tap and scored first through a try, allegedly costing punters more than $250,000.
Tandy has maintained he has done nothing wrong.
The second man visited five different TAB outlets during a five-hour betting plunge in the days leading up to the Round 24 match in Townsville.
A series of bets were placed on the Cowboys to score first with a penalty goal, according to police, who made no suggestion Murray or the second man were involved in criminal activity but thought they could help their investigation.
Under NRL rules, players are not allowed to bet on games.
Osborne said the club would allow the police investigation to run its course before considering any action.
"We'll let the police finish their work first and then we'll have a look into that," Osborne said.
NRL chief executive David Gallop couldn't shed any new light yesterday on the police betting probe. "The league is not in a position to make comment until the police investigation is complete," Gallop said.
But a league spokesman said there was no set penalty for NRL players caught and later found guilty of having bet on matches.
"There's not a fixed penalty. It's just a breach of the code of conduct laws," he said.
Strike Force Suburb detectives has interviewed more than 80 people in Queensland and NSW in relation to the betting probe.
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