No unrest at KR over wage cuts, says coach Smith
BUT HE IS CONCERNED OVER SUPER LEAGUE ISSUES
TONY Smith insists his Hull KR players have every intention of returning to training next week amid wider unrest over pay cuts ahead of Super League’s resumption.
It emerged this week that the majority of clubs are engaged in disputes with their players over pay once they are taken off furlough.
Experienced Warrington Wolves prop Mike Cooper went as far as saying “there is no competition” at the moment with only three clubs said to have reached an agreement on wage structures.
Hull FC plan to pay their players in full from October, which has caught the attention of individuals at other clubs.
Across the city, KR reviewed the situation in June and decided to stick with the tiered reductions that have been in place since April until the end of the season.
Meetings will be held at Craven Park next week, when the players will be given a clear picture of the financial situation.
While Smith is concerned about an issue that could threaten the restart, he is happy about how it is being handled by Rovers.
“I don’t know how well things are communicated at all clubs,” Smith told the Mail.
“I’m constantly in contact with our senior players and there’s no unrest within our club, but there are concerns about what’s going on with the game as a whole.
“I’ve asked Mike Smith to brief our players early next week as to the necessities of pay cuts and what’s involved and what it entails so they’ve got all the information before they make any rash decisions.
“What I think there is a reaction to is some misinformation out there and some lack of understanding. It’s up to each of us clubs to communicate with our players and for our players to communicate in the right manner with the club, and that we all have an informed understanding of what’s going on.
“That’s what we’re doing. Our players have been magnificent in terms of returning paperwork and attending meetings in order to return.
“Our players have got every intention of returning to play and train. What they do need to get is some more information so they are making an informed decision about what’s going on, rather than some of what is being bandied around the game.
“It certainly is a concern as to how some of this has been handled, particularly at some other clubs.”
Smith has previously warned that Super League needs to protect its owners and he fears it may come to a point where some walk away.
“One of the considerations about all this is each club has a different situation, an entirely different situation,” he added.
“The wealth of each individual owner varies dramatically in our competition. If people are looking for uniformity because of what is happening at another club and not actually looking at their own individual club and what their circumstances are, I think it’s quite naive.
“What each of us has got to do as individuals and players and coaches is look at our own situation and the reasons and necessities and then make a decision.
“To compare ourselves to other clubs just doesn’t make sense. There’s different wealth and different amounts of resources at different places that some can afford certain things and some can’t. That’s just the reality of it.
“Most of the NRL’S income is from TV and it’s all spread fairly evenly, but we rely on input from individual owners and it’s up to their businesses and how much those businesses are being affected as to how much they can sustain before they pack up their bat and ball and go home. That’s the real concern.
“We could end up getting 100 per cent of nothing rather than 70 per cent of something that’s not too bad.
“We’ve just got to make we’re communicating well our players.” sure with