The man who spent three months reviewing the National Rugby League’s system for third-party agreements said that "while it needs to be simplified and made more transparent, it is far from broken," according to Margie McDonald of THE AUSTRALIAN. Former Melbourne Storm CEO Mark Evans "looked at all TPAs lodged with the NRL over the past two years." He "finished his review last November." Evans said, "It is too complicated for a start because there are five types of TPAs. I couldn’t find anyone in the game that could name all five. That tells you something. ... So do I think TPAs need reforming? Yes, I do. Do I think the whole system is bust? Far from it. It’s not perfect but this sport hasn’t had back-to-back premiers since 1992-93." So "what is a TPA?" Players "are allowed to receive money, goods and services outside the salary cap via a legal TPA." TPAs "cannot be sourced from clubs or their sponsors, but clubs can introduce prospective TPA providers to player managers." A deal "is struck which then goes back to the club to be signed off and lodged with the NRL." It "seems a simple process" but there is a possibility to subvert the rules.
The two most common ways of doing "have been keeping payments/services secret, or overinflating invoices from a club supplier so an amount is shaved off and paid to the player" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/12).
