NRL’s backflip on Parramatta points decision a major misstep
May 6, 2016 7:12pm
PAUL KENTThe Daily Telegraph
IF you can get out-smarted by the Parramatta board, how bad are you going?
The Parramatta Gang of Five had their Supreme Court injunction extended to Monday and came out with news the NRL is prepared to let them play for premiership points despite not satisfying the game’s demand to stand down.
Such a backdown defeats everything the NRL stood for with all their tough talk on Tuesday.
Hours after NRL boss Todd Greenberg made the apparently tough decision on Tuesday, handled himself with aplomb in the press conference, he arrived at Fox Sports for his appearance on NRL360.
We were sitting in the green room minutes before heading on set for NRL360 and he asked what I thought of the punishment.
My initial reaction to allow them the chance to play in this year’s finals was a bit soft, I said, but the more I thought about it the more I saw how clever it was the decision.
It forced Parramatta to get under the salary cap quickly and forced the club to remove its poor administrators, those responsible.
“Exactly,” he said.
Two days later Greenberg met with club bosses, who have a great interest in this. How it plays out could fundamentally change the way business is done in the NRL.
Greenberg told the club bosses that Parramatta had approached them seeking help to get below the salary before kick-off.
He said he told Parramatta he did not want to talk to them while ever the officials were taking legal action against the NRL.
The following morning, the NRL softened on that tough stance.
So as it turns out there appears nothing very clever about it at all. They are still there and the NRL is allowing them to play for points if they satisfy the second part of the punishment, becoming salary cap compliant.
If so, it leaves nothing left.
Already everybody has spoken about how easy it would be for the Eels to become salary cap compliant by simply retiring Anthony Watmough on the career ending insurance scheme.
The Eels are $570,000 over and Watmough earns in the vicinity of $750,000.
Even Watmough has offered to take one for the team and retire, bless him.
Yet given the amounts stated this can happen only if the salary cap auditor uses his discretion to decide Watmough’s entire contract is not counted.
If it is applied to the letter, meaning 25 per cent of Watmough’s contract still applies given he did not suffer the injury until February, once a new player comes into the top 25 it would again push the Eels over.
So the NRL would need to apply discretion to wipe it all off.
Unless, again, the NRL applies discretion.
It is all starting to look too convenient.
At the same time Will Hopoate still has his court case going ahead which, oddly, recently got the slows.
No-one can explain why the hold up.
Earlier this week I asked the NRL media department if Hopoate’s settlement would be included in the salary cap.
They said it would not be included in the salary cap because it would be a compensation payment and not salary.
Other clubs heard this and rubbed their hands with one thought.
Beautiful.
Every time a player has reached his use-by date before his contract is up or a club gets in salary cap trouble they will simply sack him and compensate him, knowing the money will not be included in the salary cap.
Unfortunately, the information the NRL gave out is not true.
According to the NRL’s own contract, Hopoate’s payment will have to go on the salary cap.
In the “NRL Playing Contract and Remuneration Rules”, part 8.3, subsection 65 (f) states money will be included in the cap if it is a “Beneficial entitlement, in law or in equity”. Sub-section 65 (j) states it’s included if they “Chose in action, being a right to sue someone”.
Both comfortably satisfy Hopoate’s claim should be included in the salary cap.
When this was brought up Thursday, in relation to, Greenberg told club bosses he knew his media department had given the wrong information.
So what is going on in there?
Lacking in the NRL’s actions since Tuesday’s punishment is consistency and transparency.
All while it appears to be working towards getting the Eels ready to play for points next Thursday, their only true loss being a player they have not played with this season, anyway.
