Irate players' union joins fight to keep Inglis
Glenn Jackson
December 22, 2010
THE rugby league players' union has stepped into the Greg Inglis saga, requesting files from the NRL's salary cap audit into the centre's deal with South Sydney.
The chief executive of the Rugby League Players' Association, David Garnsey, said he would view the details of third-party sponsorships that were ruled to be included in the Rabbitohs' salary cap by NRL auditor Ian Schubert. Garnsey described as ''untenable'' the revelation that Inglis is without an income, as disclosed in yesterday's Herald.
As Inglis prepares to meet Essendon coach James Hird today, Garnsey has taken up his case with a view to investigating whether an appeal against the NRL's findings is possible.
''I've got no real knowledge of those agreements and I've got no preconceptions about them,'' Garnsey said. ''The NRL may have done a good job with it, and I'd certainly be surprised if they'd be trying hard to knock it back. But the RLPA has the right to engage in the process and I've requested that information today.''
Garnsey also had discussions yesterday with Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson and Melbourne boss Ron Gauci about the claims by Inglis's manager, Allan Gainey, that the Queensland star was still owed $270,000 by the Storm - and had not been paid while he awaited a resolution to his contract wrangle.
''My objective in all this is to safeguard the welfare of my member,'' Garnsey said. ''I don't claim to know the ins and outs and I can't yet dispute the ruling that's been made, but what I am concerned about is that he's got no income coming in, living in the front room of Shane Richardson's house, he's newly married and he's having to borrow money. That's a terrible scenario for anyone, let alone one of our marquee players. That's an untenable situation, and somehow some heads have got to get together and ensure that he gets some flow of money coming in. And if that drives him to the AFL or anywhere else
that would be a disaster for all concerned.''
On that front, Inglis is set to meet Hird today. NRL chief executive David Gallop said yesterday the development would not alter the administration's stance. ''Speculation about the AFL doesn't mean we should change the ruling we've made,'' Gallop told AAP. ''The [NRL] ruling reflects the true nature of the arrangements that were put in place to secure Greg Inglis's signature at Souths.
''I hope for his sake his situation is resolved but I can't imagine the reaction if we were to suddenly toss the rules out the window, irrespective of who the player is.''
John Byrne, of The Food 2U Group, was willing to offer up $50,000 a season to top up the Test and Origin star's contract with the Rabbitohs, but he told the Herald he would investigate a deal with the AFL unless the stand-off over the three-year Souths deal was sorted out.
He added he was ''astounded'' that his company's commitment to Inglis's deal was ordered by the NRL to be included in Souths' cap. ''We saw Greg as an opportunity to get involved in rugby league in Sydney, but with this other club [GWS] coming to town, Israel [Folau] definitely strikes a chord,'' Byrne said.
''Greg is our number one preference, but the other one is definitely an alternative.'' Byrne said the Inglis deal was ''purely through Greg and Allan Gainey'', and that ''Souths weren't really involved''. ''Whether he played for Souths wasn't of any great concern to us,'' he said. ''I rang Souths to get Allan's number, so I could discuss with him whether he was coming to Sydney. I thought it was pretty straightforward. I've got a business, and we sponsor Danny Green, we've got an involvement with the Perth Wildcats and the World Sailing Championships. I thought this was a great opportunity to add to them. But with none of those organisations have we had to go through the scrutiny that we have in this instance.''
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...oins-fight-to-keep-inglis-20101221-194hh.html
