The media focus on contract dealings at Parramatta has been difficult for the Club, the team and its supporters. It is a constant reminder of the mess that the club is in. However, an important development is taking place. Though the NRL investigation to this point has focussed on determining an appropriate penalty for the Eels, the media is now playing a vital role in probing the role of player agents. The opening of Pandora’s Box has begun.
Let’s consider an ALLEGED range of conduct uncovered about player agents through the investigation into Parramatta’s salary cap breaches:
- Cash payments (outside the cap) to players, organised by agents
- Cash payments or “expenses covered” to agents in return for contracts being secured
- Housing/transport for players (outside the cap) organised by agents
- Demands/harassment by agents to have outside the cap arrangements honoured
If proven to be true, such allegations will have huge ramifications, not just for the agents involved, but also for the code in general. It will raise questions about the role that the salary cap has served to allow such nefarious conduct to take place.
For supporters of the NRL, there may be some difficult times ahead, and it won’t just be fans of the Parramatta Eels. For NRL hierarchy, there may be an uncomfortable truth to face. It surrounds the following questions:
- Would the Parramatta Eels be a club in isolation when it comes to the alleged conduct of player agents?
- Have the main players in the salary cap dramas at Parramatta been exposed to similar alleged demands by agents when they were working at other NRL clubs?
These are surely logical questions that will be answered by quality investigative journalism.
Certainly the Parramatta club was in a state of desperation during its time in the cellar of the NRL Premiership. Attracting quality players was near impossible given that success was hardly likely in a team that was becoming accustomed to failure. It was the perfect time to demand extra compensation for signing with the club, and even the agents for fringe first graders or players past their best were seemingly able to cash in on the bounties on offer.
Is it little wonder that coaches and club executives have recently left of their own accord?
Yet, it’s important to see the bigger picture here.
Parramatta is not the only club that has experienced periods of Premiership failure. It is a well known fact that it is harder to attract quality players to teams rooted to the bottom of the ladder. So, are these clubs also subjected to this alleged agent behaviour? Logic would tell you that they are.
Consider this scenario: The player agents get together and as a group decide that the Parramatta club should be the only club that will be held to ransom for cash payments and other incentives to sign their clients. It wouldn’t happen!
It therefore follows that if this alleged practice of demanding extra “considerations” to sign clients occurs with certain agents in their dealings with Parramatta, then this conduct is likely widespread within the code.
Taking this further, one has to wonder whether the individuals at the centre of these investigations – Scott Seward and Jason Irvine (and another implicated in Peter Nolan) – had been faced with such alleged demands at other clubs. After all, these men weren’t new to rugby league when they arrived at Parramatta. All had spent time at other NRL clubs.
So, although the pain of the 2016 points penalty has been a difficult pill for Eels fans to swallow, the NRL has the opportunity to remedy many ills within the game.
If they don’t do it of their own volition, the media will certainly force their hand.
When the facts are fully revealed, the fans of other clubs will be able to put genuine perspective on the dramas facing the Eels and consider themselves lucky that it wasn’t their club that was exposed.
Sixties
So true Sixties, if it happens it’ll be interesting to see the reaction of those from other clubs that are so blindly labeling Parra as cheats.
I also find it interesting that little or nothing is being said from other club officials, coaches about all the salary cap problems Parra has been facing. Similarly I’ve wondered why Dave Smith, Shane Richardson & others suddenly decided to leave the NRL, they obviously were aware of what was coming?
Many thanks to yourself & the others at “thecumberlandthrow” for the highly informative quality site!
Thanks Ray. We need to keep up the pressure to investigate who is at the heart of this catastrophe.
What a great article Sixties. I really hope that the media push hard for this as I’m not so sure the NRL want to open Pandora’s box in relation to what is potentially happening throughout the code.
Rosco, I’m reliably informed that the media investigation will continue. Let’s see what transpires. Thanks for your feedback.
The way its comming out in the media one can only think its the norm for struggling clubs t have to do that , 3 manegers even got 6 months over the storm rort and are they involed with bringing players to the eels
No lessons learnt apparently. Let’s see how deep this goes!
Nice piece Sixties! It is probably worth noting that a good proportion of “stories” for the “Hack Journos” that surround league come directly from the Agents. I suspect the media may not be that keen to expose them as then their “Journalistic Skill” would disappear down the toilet. With The exception of Kate McClymont, I suspect non of them do any real journalism! I suspect Parra’s favourite son Paul Kent has never written a story that hasn’t been handed to him by someone with any agenda. I had a thought the other day and it goes something like this…perhaps it would be worthwhile setting up a structure within the “Players Association” that negotiates contracts on behalf of the players. In this way, player value would be correctly equated as per this market and negotiations would be both private for the players and transparent for the NRL. It would surely be the case that player interests are maximised..to the point that the whole system could be funded by a, for example 3-5% contract negotiation fee on every contract..
A thought provoking response Walpy. For too long the Players Association has looked to truly define its role. This may be the ideal time to step up to the plate on a big issue.
Key words here”PETER NOLAN “
How deep will the NRL want to look into what has surrounded his role? Will the journos run with this ball?
Great stuff sixties. Although it means we could be in for more turbulence the NRL HAS to surely see this through and address the herd of elephants currently sitting in the room. The media need to play their part as well.
I was at a work function last night and said to a colleague who supports another club (doesn’t matter which one) “this is going to end in a full blown investigation into every club – everything may end up coming out” . . . . . the blood drained from his face.
Cheers for the fantastic read mate 🙂
Thanks K Man! As you said, the elephants are in the room and they are stampeding around. Many of us on the periphery of clubs know enough about rorts all around the game. Some are of course rumours, others are from direct sources. It goes on, and with the evidence in black and white, surely the alleged actions of agents precipitated the breaches. Yes Eels employees and officials must take responsibility, but how far were they pushed? Would it have happened without the insistence on such deals?
Very good and relevant article 60s but I doubt the NRL has the stomach to investigate too deeply. It would then throw the whole sorry mess of what is the salary cap into disrepute. There has to be a better way to police the cap than by salary of a player. As has shown over the past years it is too easy to rort and don’t even get me started on TPAs. That a club has to have no involvement in sourcing TPAs makes a mockery of this mess.
A much better cap would be a points based system which would be impossible to cheat. It has to be set so that a of club was unable to stockpile too many representative players on their roster and would enable a better spread of talent over clubs. That way if a representative player didn’t have a club he could only go to a club under their points allocation. Additionally he would be unable to negotiate a ridiculous salary, much like has happened to many stars lately, Foran (being in demand) being one in particular offered a ridiculous amount to play for Parra!
Don’t talk too much common-sense Glenn! People will find it much more difficult to understand than the simple system known as the salary cap. Why, everybody understands how the cap works, and doesn’t it just allow for a wonderful spread of talent across all clubs!
Mate, don’t be surprised if all future Eels contracts have no TPAs. (Except for maybe JH who would bring his own!)
Great article Sixties, The same thought’s have been buzzing through my head recently. A couple of weeks ago a few of my mates were giving it to me over the Eels, so I said, They are investigating player managers now so it won’t be long until you are all facing the same as us Eels supporter’s. I love this game, I have coached junior rugby league for 10 years & currently coaching at a club that has provided the NRL with some stars & I guess the biggest has been Hayne, Cabramatta RLC, so as you can see this game means a lot to me. I don’t just watch it on the weekends, I live it. However the one thing that started my love of this game is the Eels. I LOVE THE EELS & it hurts so bad when I see what is happening to them this season so I hope the NRL are in the same destructive mood when they begin hunting down other clubs. We have had a few bad seasons of late but I truly believe this is the turning point, After having to put up with a season like the resilience that the team & fans build will hold us in good stead for years. Eels fans have been great throughout this whole mess, let’s see how the other teams fans handle it when it comes their way.
Remember no matter what, Be strong & never forsake our MIGHTY EELS.
Thank you for the passionate response Jim. Yes, if the investigation goes where it should, there will be some pain for some clubs. Many years ago, Chris Masters exposed the dark side in the game and it brought about the end of a government and a massive change in the NSWRL.
As for Cabramatta, I got down to the ground a few times this year watching Junior reps. It’s a great club and a wonderful junior venue.
Great article sixties & I especially loved the responses of Kramerica & Jim. This season from hell has been so hard to take, with the only saving grace being the team & coach still putting in week after week. – When my mates send me texts such as “Parra are a disgrace”, I sometimes despair. But I know there are & always have been good & wonderful people at the Eels, which is why I follow this team area & club!! – The Advertiser story yesterday disturbs me when they say that the 3 EGM proposals have all been declared invalid. – Any more info on this?? – We need to move forward with a new board ala the “Losco proposal” ASAP!!!
Thanks for the response Craig. Couldn’t agree more with regard to the quality of the responses today. It’s obvious that we have intelligent and passionate fans. It would be best for Chris to answer any questions regarding updated information with his proposal.
I can’t believe everything happening at Parramatta was not well known throughout the NRL world and that its happening only at Parramatta. The media refuse to ask the tough questions of Greenburg etc. Everyone is protecting their piece of turf. I have no confidence whatsoever that other clubs or managers will be implicated. Everyone knows already whats happening. Parramatta are being used by the NRL as a way of warning other clubs and as a PR exercise to promote Greenberg. Watch everything dissappear once every last drop of blood is drained from Parramattas corpse.
Nice thoughts Sixtys and I appreciate your sentiment but other than raping our great club, little else will happen.
I totally understand your perspective Gazza. It is only “head in the sand” attitude that would believe that Parra is the only club faced with such dilemmas. My hope is that media investigation of the alleged agent practices will force the NRL’s hand.
Gazzamatta this is the best response on this matter that I have read. I agree with every point that you have made. The last 3 months have proven to me that none of the journalists covering the NRL are capable of investigative journalism. They have all been sitting back waiting for the leaks and then reporting them as disclosed. No analysis of any facts given to them. A quick comparison of who has all the rep players and who are competing in the finals each year would give any journalist an inkling of what is going on.
It needs to be remembered that these same Journalists are also getting a big part of their material from these same player managers. If you think that they are about to bite the hand that feeds them you are in a parallel universe. It just wont happen.
There are a lot of patterns emerging that would indicate to a switched on Investigative Journalist or NRL official that something is not right with the salary cap. This system was designed to keep the player talent spread evenly throughout the NRL. Red flags are popping up to show that this is not happening. The clear signals like certain clubs having a bigger percentage of rep players than other teams, Players at some clubs continually signing on for unders, GF teams normally have to shed players the following season (Eels 2009) however the 2015 GF’s maintained there GF teams and added to their quality.
These are all signs that it is not working, the system is broken. There would barely be a club not impacted if the lid was lifted so I do not believe that this will be exposed now or any time soon. Too much potential for damage.
John, you make excellent points & very hard to argue with. There is without doubt in my mind media people out there that are capable of good investigative work & reporting what they find. I would also suggest that some have done so & come up with different conclusions than what they are saying in the public arena, I guess the question then has to be a simple, WHY? The answer maybe not so simple only because of the need to suppress the findings.
I read somewhere that if the truth every really got out regarding what is a bias against the eels & need to clamp down on them as a warning to all clubs has the effect of protecting the whole of the NRL, clubs & associated business associations that the NRL rely on for survival, why else would the NRL’s CEO be so dogmatically opposed to the eels 5 wanting to appeal the decision? If what they have found & they win an appeal, then the game itself through the head body is brought into disrepute big time. What company, business or the like would want to be associated with the NRL in any form?
Would the game be wiped out through the TV sponsors pulling the plug on televising games & therefore paying for broadcast rights & the like? In fact if any of this happens, what took place in the SL war will look more like a 2year old championship boxing match with the game in disarray, & which clubs/teams would survive to participate?
Even if as some has suggested once this issue is resolved & all goes quiet on the Moore Park front, the NRL does a big backflip on the Salary cap & TPA’s increasing monies to the club or the like, with the reason to prevent any more eels scandals, all will be happy hugging each other at the conclusion. Thing is will it be an armistice or surrender? The NRL would be wanting the later to ensure it maintains control & able to silence opponents & rogue clubs.
Colin I believe that your sentiment that NRL are attempting to pound the Eels into submission is an attempt to protect the other clubs and the NRL. I have no doubt that you have hit the nail on the head with this regard. The alternative would be to open a hornets nest of non compliance which would be very damaging for the NRL and maybe even some within the NRL.
With regard to your point about investigative journalists, part of what makes a good investigative journalist is the courage of the journalist to write the story and the ability of the journalist to convince the editor to get the story onto the front page. Probably the only true investigative journalist in Australia at the moment is Kate Mc Clyrmont.
I for one am not convinced that we will see anything come out of this mess. I believe that they may talk about doing something about the Player Agents but in the end it will go quiet and then disappear from discussion. After the Storm cheating they had an opportunity to do something and missed the boat, it will be the same again this time.
Sixties thank you for the article. Agree player agent behaviour and the likelihood of similar issues at other clubs is highly probable. I think we had the trifecta of guilt/Seward/Eels brand strength but I wonder whether other clubs have the tragic & toxic combination of clickbait attraction for the media and internal source(s) that are willing to expose their discretions?
Most wouldn’t, which is why I hope attention on a common denominator such as contracts negotiated by player agents would strike a chord.
Superb read mate. I sit here waiting for my dinner enjoying an ale, and think of two more words.
Peter O’Sullivan. He was involved in the Melbourne cap drama and I believe is with Easts..? I maybe wrong but think he is, and I cannot believe so called journos in the Tele have NOT done much investigative work. Is this because they need league to proper..? We have K McClymont who has enormous credibility and seems to be one step ahead of many others…including the NRL.
Kate McClymont and Adrian Proschenko have been working together on investigating this. I’m looking forward to what they uncover.
Thanks Mitchy. You being waited on by your lovely partner I assume. Some people are far too spoilt! I reckon that McClymont and Proshenks will take their investigation a bit deeper than the DT.
Ha no mate I actually organised it tonight. A few bonus points. She’s a good lady….
I truly hope they do. Like others here, I’m not shocked by the lack of interest from other clubs about Parra….I may be blonde, but if people think parra are the only club with issues on TPA, then we are all naive.
Mate, as per usual top stuff. Methinks the pandorras box is firmly stuck at the bottom of the quicksand, although in reality is that its more than likely just under the surface with a thin layer of mud, with the handle on the top sticking through & quite visible & within reach, but no one willing to try & lift it out.
From my side of the pool, all are too scared as to what will happen & no doubt both NRL & Media realise how bad all will come out, yet they have gone in deep enough & using the eels as the principle & biggest scapegoat with the hope that all the damage will be upon them. Do they really want to see the club survive, let alone become in Greenburgs words the powerhouse the eels should be again? I do not think so.
The media are currently hammering the club for the WEAK news on Norman. Massoud outside Kogarah oval tonight saying Norman’s likely home for next year as the problems bit.
The role of agents as a whole has to be delved into, along with all the side payments, how many clubs would be prepared to offer up the same things that have come out from the eels, about the pressure from the agents to pay money for they crying players, but do the players do that? doubt if they all do, but likely some who have pulled their weight more than the others especially the high paid players.
Colin, Corey’s agent may not be happy with the Eels because of his other high profile client as well as being mentioned in the investigation. Let’s hope it doesn’t impact Norman’s decision.
Great article!
I have long wondered what player agents get up too and the amount of pressure they put on clubs etc. Now we are beginning to see and I’m also sure it’s not just at the eels?
I’d love to see all players put through a business course of some kind, early in their careers and make like Corey Parker and look after their own contracts.
On another note, do you agree that the rot started when Stuart sacked half the team in the well known ‘projector gate’ scandal, sixties?
It was always going to be a massive task to stay under the cap after that and I still recall Hayne being interviewed on the sideline, post game and him saying, “It’s hard to get a top roster when we are paying 750k per year for players playing at other clubs”. This was about 2013 if I’m correct?
No wonder the club had too push the limits with the cap and TPA’s!
Thanks Grunta. I am pretty sure that Ricky brought Daniel Irvine with him to the Eels. I’ll say no more there.
That’s forward thinking about business management for players. At the very least, even if the players don’t want to manager themselves, they would at least have enough of a skill base to make a choice.
Good article, Sixties. But I’m sorry I don’t think much will be done about player agents. The media will not go after them. There are a couple reasons for this. First and foremost, journalists will not target agents because they depend on them so much for information regarding player movement and the relationships between clubs and their players. If a player is unhappy with their club, their manager will go off and talk to a journo and give them a story to write. Managers also use the media to place pressure on clubs to offer more money to their clients. Thus I think you will find that journalists will tend to leave player managers alone.
Secondly, the media will target clubs with far greater conviction compared to anything else because clubs are a popular target. Going after the Eels has been a very good business decision by the press because they have been able to attract widespread attention. Most people don’t know a great deal about player agents because the work they do is behind the scenes. Talking about player managers will not generate as much interest. There has been enough material already for journalists to talk about regarding the suspicious activities of agents. They’re not about to start targeting them now, I’m afraid.