Manly deny salary cap rorts as secret cash deal revealed

Manly insist they have a clean salary cap record despite a report putting them front and centre of alleged NRL breaches.

A Fairfax Media report last night claimed the Sea Eagles had breached the cap in a previous season by providing secret payments to at least one unnamed former player.

The report suggested Manly were one of several clubs under scrutiny for alleged top-up payments, which had been discovered by the NSW Organised crime squad during an investigation into match-fixing.

The Herald understands the Warriors are not one of the NRL clubs under suspicion.

The Sea Eagles last night denied they had been the subject of any allegations “in relation to any components of the NRL salary cap or lower tier cap compliance”.

“Quite the contrary,” the club said in a statement.

“We recently had our 2017 midyear salary cap audit completed by the NRL in record time and without adjustment.

“The club remains the benchmark in relation to both salary cap and playing roster management at all levels across the NRL, something we remain immensely proud of.”

The report said the former Manly player had received secret cash payments in a car park — which would constitute a breach of the NRL’s salary cap rules.

However, a spokesman for the league said they had no evidence surrounding the matter.

“At this stage, we are not in possession of evidence of salary cap violations which would warrant any disciplinary action,” the NRL spokes- man said. “But we remain in contact with police and will take action if it is warranted.”

Meanwhile, the investigation into match-fixing did not find evidence of any rigged games.

An NRL insider told Fairfax Media detectives have not found evidence of an organised conspiracy involving players deliberately losing games.

But detectives have information about intelligence being leaked by club insiders to punters, and hidden player payments that may breach salary cap rules.

“It is systemic,” said one witness who has been interviewed by police about making undisclosed player payments at several clubs.

Another businessman who has been interviewed by police said secret salary top-up payments were happening “at every club”.

When asked whether he had ever made any undisclosed payments to a Manly player, he responded: “You write it. I’ve got no comment to make.”

Sources told Fairfax the Manly breaches are similar to those which cost Parramatta heavy fines, sackings and 12 competition points.