Warriors unfazed as agents raided
Managing director says NZ franchise has no concerns after NSW police scour homes and officers of four Sydney-based operators
The Warriors have “absolutely no concerns” about any residual fallout from the ongoing investigations into Parramatta salary cap breaches, which culminated in police raids yesterday of four Sydney-based player agents.
New South Wales police searched the homes and offices of prominent agents Wayne Beavis, Sam Ayoub, George Mimis and Paul Sutton yesterday.
The raids were in relation to Strike Force Rhodium, the unit investigating the endemic salary cap breaches at the Eels over the last few seasons.
Mimis and Sutton are part of the SFX Sports group, who have 10 Warriors players on their books, including Bodene Thompson, Jacob Lillyman, Tui Lolohea and David Fusitua.
But Warriors’ managing director Jim Doyle dismissed the notion that in the course of the investigation anything untoward might be uncovered within the club’s contracts and arrangements.
“We have absolutely no concern whatsoever,” said Doyle. “Every con- tract we have done is completely above board and registered with the NRL. There are no issues whatsoever.” Doyle was also unconcerned about historic deals involving Kieran Foran, who was the star recruit for the Eels ahead of the 2016 season and formerly managed by Mimis, being linked to the investigation by some reports.
Eight of the 10 Warriors’ SFX players are managed by locally based agent Stan Martin. He said that while he has been part of the SFX group since 2012, he retains full control over any dealings with his players, who include Lolohea, Fusitua, Sam Lisone, Ken Maumalo and Bunty Afoa.
“All of my players have been with me since day one,” said Martin. “Everything in their contracts is above board and I can guarantee that all of the deals have been done properly. There is nothing to worry about from my point of view.”
SFX is the biggest agency in the NRL, with more than 80 players on their books, including Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Sam Thaiday.
Beavis is one of the most prominent agents in the NRL — with Jarryd Hayne in his stable — while Ayoub has been in the business for more than two decades .
“The allegations under investigation relate to finance being fraudulently derived by the NRL club through false or inflated invoices to suppliers paid by the Leagues Club,” NSW police said in a statement yesterday.
The raids took place at Beavis’ home in Woollahra; the Leichhardt office of Sam Ayoub; and the Pitt St offices of Mimis and Sutton, where officers from the NSW Fraud and Cybercrime Squad carried out search warrants, according to Australian reports.
The raids were related to the Parramatta salary cap dramas — in May the Eels were docked 12 competition points and fined A$1 million ($1.06 million) for systemic breaches of the cap — and there is no suggestion any non-Eels contracts are being investigated, or any non-Eels players with the mentioned agents have done anything wrong.