http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...r-savages-nrl-over-ruling-20101219-191zp.html
Here we go - Souffs supp. spitting the dummy over GI..get use to it plenty more comming in the next few weeks...
We just want to keep GI in the NRL...utter crap...
GI blues: sponsor savages NRL over ruling
Glenn Jackson
December 20, 2010
Greg Inglis with Rabbitohs coach John Lang at Redfern Oval last month.
Photo: Getty Images
THE chairman of the Aboriginal Medical Service - one of four third-party sponsors to be scrutinised by the NRL in its investigation into Greg Inglis's contract - has attacked the policing of the salary cap and claimed sponsors would be lost to rugby league because of the heavy-handed approach to Inglis's South Sydney deal.
Sol Bellear expressed his disappointment that the NRL chose to rule $30,000 of a $75,000-a-season offer over three years must be included in the Rabbitohs' cap. The
Herald understands the $45,000 judged not part of the cap was the only portion of all four deals to be ruled thus.
As Rabbitohs co-owner Russell Crowe admitted the club faced a ''challenge'' to ensure Inglis plays with the Rabbitohs next year and beyond, Bellear became the first representative from the potential third-party sponsors to publicly criticise the NRL for its handling of the saga.
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Bellear said the medical service would have sponsored Inglis had he been at any other NSW club - or even in rugby union - a point he maintained when interviewed by the NRL salary cap auditor Ian Schubert and lawyer Tony O'Reilly.
Bellear said he first approached Inglis about an ambassadorial role with the AMS, based in Redfern, in February during the camp for the All Stars match on the Gold Coast - well before Melbourne had to shed the centre following the investigation into the club's salary cap rorting, and well before Souths began negotiating with the Test representative.
''I'm disappointed,'' Bellear said. ''Greg wants a career in Aboriginal health. Whether he was at Newcastle, or Penrith, or even playing rugby union, we would have pursued him to be a part of Aboriginal health.
''I think the NRL has got it very wrong, and the salary cap audit has got it very wrong. I understand that the game needs a salary cap, but they've got to
understand that there are a lot of very honest third-party sponsors. I said to Schubert that we're going to get a lot more out of Greg Inglis than we'll be putting in.''
Bellear is a former director of the Rabbitohs but he maintained he was the last person who would collude with the club, as he voted against the privatisation by Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court and was a staunch supporter of former club president George Piggins. ''I told Schubert and O'Reilly that I stood against the privatisation of Souths and that I stood on the George Piggins ticket,'' Bellear said. ''I thought it was premature for Souths to be privatised - I've since been proven wrong, but I certainly haven't rolled over.
''If anyone wasn't going to get in bed with Souths, it was me. I first spoke to Greg in February. Greg had no plans to leave Melbourne then - I didn't say, 'If you come to Souths, we'll take you on board'. I told him if he came to Sydney, or anywhere in NSW, we'd love to have him on board.''
Bellear said he also resented any suggestion he had colluded with the Rabbitohs. ''We've got reputation as a charitable organisation,'' he said. ''This is going to scare off some third-party sponsors.''
The Rabbitohs had proposed to list Inglis under the salary cap at $190,000 next season and $350,000 for each of the following two years and argued that the NRL agreed to a similar arrangement for Sam Burgess, who was valued at $175,000 last season and $350,000 for the remaining three years of his contract.
ANZ Stadium officials also believe their $50,000 deal with Inglis is almost identical to that Bulldogs playmaker Brett Kimmorley had this year, except he will be required to make even more corporate and promotional appearances in his role as a promoter of the stadium.
Schubert had required Souths officials and representatives of all four non-club sponsors - ANZ Stadium, the AMS, WA Spit Roast and an inner-Sydney car dealership - to provide statuary declarations about the deals, forward any emails relating to Inglis's contract or third-party arrangements and to make themselves available for questioning by O'Reilly.
The Rabbitohs are stunned by the ruling, which is worse than they could have predicted, as Inglis's contract has been averaged out over the three years, even though his deal was back-ended.
Crowe tweeted: ''The NRL decision is intriguing. We have a challenge in front of us. We are still moving towards our goal.''
But the Rabbitohs will seek a more detailed explanation from the NRL before deciding whether to attempt to release other players to accommodate Inglis. Michael Crocker, one of those mentioned at risk of being off-loaded, told Channel Seven last night: ''No, I'm not going anywhere. There's a good feeling at the club - I think all the boys feel the same. They want to stay around for the next couple of years.''
Parramatta, one of the clubs with money to spend, will be inevitably linked to any player who might be released. But chief executive Paul Osborne still does not believe the Eels could sign Inglis, predicting the Rabbitohs will shed talent to keep him.
