Team hits back at uncooperative tag
BRAD WALTER, CHRIS BARRETT AND STATHI PAXINOS
July 17, 2010
MELBOURNE STORM players have hit back at criticism from News Ltd boss John Hartigan over their unwillingness to cooperate with the Deloitte investigation into the club's salary cap scandal. The Rugby League Players' Association, speaking on behalf of Storm players, insisted the only reason they did not agree to interviews was because the auditors could not guarantee the players' personal details would not be leaked by the media empire.
The players yesterday contacted the RLPA in response to Hartigan's comments and said they had spoken with the Deloitte team and received assurances any information disclosed would be kept confidential between the player and Deloitte.
However, the players said they had also been advised News might release details to its newspapers, including personal information they gained during the investigation.
''It is for this reason and for this reason alone, that the players reasonably chose to protect their privacy,'' RLPA chairman Paul Moreton said.
A leading player agent, who has several clients at the Storm, also scoffed at Hartigan's claims that the players had been guaranteed confidentiality over any personal details they revealed to the News Ltd-commissioned audit.
''This investigation was commissioned by News Ltd, the biggest media organisation in the world and who have demonstrated they are happy to leak information to their reporters whenever it suits them,'' the agent told the Herald.
''The very day that Deloitte began talking about a confidentiality agreement for the players, there was a back-page story detailing how Cameron Smith had apparently signed three different contracts. Clearly, information was flowing into their papers.''
Several players told the RLPA they were given less than 24 hours' notice of scheduled interviews and could not arrange legal or other representation in time, while Smith said some were also away on Origin duty.
''We were given advice at the time of those investigations that it was probably best that we didn't go in and have those interviews,'' Smith said. ''At the time there was plenty going on, the rep season had just started and eventually the investigation was sorted out by itself.
''That was the advice we were given and that's what we stood by. We like to think that we're given fairly good advice by the people we trust and at the time we did what was right for us.''
Moreton noted that Hartigan said there ''was no evidence to prove players were aware third-party payments were in breach of the cap''.
''The players have been under extreme duress since April, however, at no time have they shied away from their responsibilities both on and off the field,'' Moreton said.
''During this very difficult time, the players have shown loyalty to one another, their fans, their club and the game. The players have given their very best in every game and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season and look forward to rebuilding the Storm in 2011.''
Meanwhile, QRL general manager Ross Livermore also responded to Hartigan's criticism that the Queenslanders were stubbornly blockading the inception of an independent commission to govern all facets of the game in Australia. Hartigan took aim at the QRL while releasing News's report on the audit into the Storm salary cap breaches.
