Parramatta Eels set to be fined heavily for salary cap breaches
Date
May 21, 2015 - 10:49AM
Chris Barrett
Sports Writer
Parramatta's disappointing season is expected to be dealt another blow on Thursday when they are set to be fined heavily over breaches of the salary cap.
The Eels, running last on the NRL ladder, have been under the microscope of salary cap auditor Jamie L'Oste Brown over breaches of the cap last year.
Parramatta's issues centre on payments that continued to be made to players after they had left the club, a predicament that came to light last July.
Fairfax Media reported then that the Eels were shelling out more than $750,000 to players who had departed the club, which impacted both their top-tier and second-tier salary caps.
Eels chief executive Scott Seward said then that their cap problems had restricted their recruitment plans, although they have since gone on to sign Manly and New Zealand international Kieran Foran.
"We're probably still compromised in 2015 and we're only really coming out of it in 2016," Seward said. "That's not to say we're not going to be in the market but there's going to be some hard decisions that have to be made and you won't see the Eels out there having major splashes for marquee players because we just can't fit them in. And that's no one's fault but the club's. We're frustrated we can't take those big steps forward because we've got to fix the issues."
