National Rugby League side Newcastle Knights "are in the throes of slashing" as much as A$2M ($1.9M) from "their operating budget for next year following the extravagances of the Nathan Tinkler era," according to Barry Toohey of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Newcastle CEO Matt Gidley, however, said that "Knights players won't bear the brunt of any of the cost-cutting." While he did not want to "speculate on an actual savings target, Gidley admitted the focus since the NRL took control of the club after Tinkler relinquished ownership has been to bring costs significantly down." Gidley: "I'm not going to put a figure on it but we have spent the past three
or four months getting the business model right and looking very
closely at our budgets. ... But
that won't impact directly on the players. We will be spending the
salary cap limit which could be as high as A$6.4 million next season if
the NRL agrees to roll in marquee player allowances which is a strong
possibility." Knights staff across the board have
reportedly "been asked to take pay cuts but the biggest single saving was made when
the club didn’t have to renew" coach Wayne Bennett’s A$1M-plus contract (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 8/26).
