Sea Eagles face salary cap penalty

MANLY are facing a hefty fine but have been spared the prospect of losing competition points after the NRL accused the club of salary cap breaches.

The Sea Eagles vowed to defend themselves against the allegations of salary cap rorting over the past five years after the NRL’s announcement yesterday that the club had been issued with a breach notice.

The NRL said the club was facing a “significant” penalty after the integrity unit concluded its investigation. Two officials, accused of orchestrat- ing the scheme, have been handed show- cause notices and face being deregistered.

Manly are accused of making some payments to players that weren’t declared under the salary cap. If that is proven, any money promised to players for the 2018 season will be included in next year’s salary cap, meaning they could be forced to shed players.

This could have a significant impact on the club’s pursuit of a replacement for playmaker Blake Green, who was released to join the Warri- ors. The club had flagged its interest in Todd Carney and Trent Hodkinson however an adjusted salary cap would rule them out of the running.

Manly CEO Lyall Gorman said the club planned to defend the charges. “Based on our legal team’s preliminary review, there is disagreement with several of the NRL findings,” Gorman said.

Because the Sea Eagles are in a position to be cap compliant in 2018, they are not facing being stripped of premiership points.