Top NRL official rejects claims Parramatta Eels reported cap breach allegations
Date
April 11, 2016 - 10:00PM
Chris Barrett and Kate McClymont
The Parramatta Eels are in more hot water over claims the club's board failed to report to the NRL that chief executive Scott Seward exited last year over allegations he was involved in deals with players that could have breached the salary cap.
Revelations by Fairfax Media on Monday about secret cash payments made by Seward and then Eels team manager Jason Irvine to former Parramatta forward Lee Mossop were accompanied by details of Seward's deed of release from June 2015.
It stated that "the club has alleged that Mr Seward has sought to enter into agreements on behalf of the club that, if finalised, may have contravened NRL salary cap rules".
On Monday, a leading NRL official said Parramatta board members including chairman Steve Sharp had not mentioned that Seward's departure from the Eels had been in connection with alleged salary cap irregularities.
Club officials including board directors are obligated under the NRL Code of Conduct to report any suspected cap breaches to the NRL integrity unit.
Eels directors have claimed privately that they told then NRL chief executive Dave Smith and head of club services Tony Crawford about Seward's dealings in relation to the salary cap but this was denied by Crawford.
"As part of a programmed visit of all NRL Clubs in mid to late 2015, a number of the NRL executive, including Dave Smith and I, met with the board of the Eels on 11 August 2015 at Parramatta," Crawford said.
"At the meeting, the Eels chairman expressed frustration that Dave Smith responded to a journalist's question after Scott Seward left the Eels saying the NRL had enjoyed a good working relationship with Scott.
"Dave pointed out that other than a bland media statement released by the Eels about Scott leaving the business, the Eels had not shared with the NRL the reasons for Scott's departure. The Eels chairman claimed that Scott had misled the Eels board, however was no more forthcoming about specifics."
Sharp did not answer calls on Tuesday.
The claims will put further pressure on the under-siege Parramatta board, however, as section 16 of the NRL's Code of Conduct states that: "any club or person bound by this code reasonably suspects that a breach of the NRL Rules…has occurred, it is the duty of that club or person to report that suspected breach to the NRL Integrity and Compliance Unit as soon as possible after forming the relevant suspicion."
NRL investigators are understood to have begun interviews with Parramatta officials as they step up their probe into third-party payments to Eels players. It is believed some have taken place off site away from the Rugby League Central building at Moore Park.
There has been ongoing correspondence between the NRL and Parramatta over whether Seward had been interviewed last week before his confidentiality agreement with the Eels was waived.
Parramatta received an email from the NRL early last week, asking for the agreement to be waived. The Eels, however, believe the governing body had already met their former boss and was retrospectively seeking approval.
With the club facing a deduction of competition points and another heavy fine, Sharp has pledged "full assistance" to the NRL integrity unit but the alleged failure of the board to report the details behind Seward's departure only adds to expectations that the governing body will include demands about changes to the Parramatta leadership as part of the penalty that is handed down.
The NRL is angry at a consistent failure from the Eels to declare potential salary cap issues to the integrity unit since the club was hit with a $525,000 fine, later reduced to $465,000, and a four-point suspended penalty last May over breaches in all four cap bands in 2014.
For its part the board claims that it has endeavoured to get to the bottom of potential salary cap problems by hiring audit firm PWC.
The NRL does not hold jurisdiction over the board of the Parramatta Leagues Club, which effectively runs the team, but the same directors sit on the board of the Parramatta National Rugby League and are bound by the officials' Code of Conduct.
