Cup pay battle looming

Push to cut big guns’ cash and reward minnows

AUSTRALIAN stars, including skipper Cameron Smith, could be asked to forfeit $1 million in match payments under a radical plan to reward minnow rivals following Tonga’s World Cup heroics.

The Mercury can reveal NRL officials have discussed redirecting money given to pampered Kangaroos and Kiwi players to bridge the gap between the World Cup’s prin- ces and paupers. The development comes as Tonga coach Kristian Woolf took aim at World Cup and international league bosses over the disparity in funding.

While Australian players receive $20,000 per Test match, Woolf revealed his Tongan squad is being paid a paltry $500 per game.

Should Australia win the World Cup, the 24-man squad will receive $50,000 per man as negotiated under the NRL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

That equates to a $1.2 million Kangaroo windfall — money influential league officials believe should instead be used to help reward rivals from tier-two nations such as Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and PNG.

Australia and New Zealand’s pay arrangement for this World Cup will not change. The idea to redistribute match payments and have Tongan and Fijian stars earning the same match fees as Kangaroos and Kiwi players is being slated for the next World Cup.

For the plan to work, Australia and New Zealand’s elite millionaires would have to accept drastic pay cuts to help their poorly paid rivals.

A formal proposal has not been tabled at this stage to ARLC chairman John Grant, but he is aware of the push to slash Kangaroos payments to help the international game.

Woolf said Tongan players deserved a better slice of the financial pie after watching his troops pull off a superb 28-22 World Cup upset of New Zealand on Saturday night. “I’d love to see the day where everything is equal — all the benefits are equal,” he said.

World Cup chief executive Andrew Hill hopes Australia and New Zealand players would consider taking a financial hit for the good of the sport.