Manly cops fine, penalty for salary cap rort
SYDNEY: Manly will play with a reduced salary cap for the remainder of 2018 and the 2019 season, while club great Bob Fulton’s future in the game is also clouded after the NRL punished the Sea Eagles for alleged breaches.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg confirmed yesterday the Sea Eagles would be fined $750,000 — $250,000 of which is suspended — over the matter.
Chief operating officer Neil Bare and former chief executive Joe Kelly — now with the Sydney Roosters — have had their registrations with the NRL suspended for 12 months.
Manly will be forced to play with $330,000 stripped from its salary cap for each of the next two seasons.
The NRL claims it found instances where a total of 13 players were promised a combined $1.5 million in payments outside the cap, usually through a thirdparty system.
‘‘The investigation found a number of cases where players were offered undisclosed benefits outside the salary cap to attract them to the club,’’ Greenberg said.
‘‘These benefits were in the form of thirdparty agreements which were never declared to the salary cap auditor.
‘‘In other words, Manly had a financial advantage in securing the services of players who may otherwise have gone to other clubs.’’
Manly coach Trent Barrett also received an official warning from the NRL, after Greenberg called him yesterday to deliver the news.
‘‘I’ve spoken to him about that, about his knowledge of the rules and the governance as a head coach,’’ Greenberg said.
‘‘There’s no evidence Trent has done anything wrong here, but there are some learnings he can take from the process.’’
Meanwhile, it is understood the NRL’s integrity unit believed Fulton’s future in the game is unlikely.
One of the NRL’s eight immortals, Fulton left the Sea Eagles last year and had no involvement in the investigation despite an offer from the league to be questioned.
His tenure as Australian selector was up at the end of last year’s World Cup, and it is considered highly unlikely he will be able to return in any capacity.
The NRL served the club with a 100page breach notice when it met with chairman Scott Penn and chief executive Lyle Gorman yesterday morning.
It is understood the pair then went to consult their lawyer, with the NRL claiming Penn had been let down by his staff.
As part of the investigation, the NRL analysed more than 800,000 documents after the club asked the league to look into its cap in July of last year, in a bid to dispel ongoing rumours.
The club’s fine will be reduced to $500,000 if it changes its governance under the NRL’s watch, while Bare and Kelly’s bans can be reduced to nine months if they undertake governance training. — NZN