National Rugby League side Parramatta Eels Dir Andrew Cordwell told NRL investigators "the game’s governing body must bear some responsibility for the Eels’ malaise and may have even been complicit" in the club's salary cap flaws by "ignoring warning signs emanating from the club," according to Brent Read of THE AUSTRALIAN. Cordwell, one of four directors who avoided any sanctions as a result of the salary cap scandal which cost the club 12 premiership points and a A$1M ($750,000) fine, told investigators he believed that "the officials who ultimately lost their registration had the Eels’ best interests at heart." Cordwell said, "I think I’ve already explained to you that life’s not black and white, that those guys over three years who were directors all that time had a massive task to clear up the group." Cordwell questioned why NRL Club Services Head Tony Crawford did not raise concerns when Cordwell told him he had joined the board to “keep the crooks out,” describing it as a “mild form of self-reporting.” He also claimed "alarm bells should have rung" at Rugby League Central when former NRL CEO Dave Smith complained to ex-Eels Chair Steve Sharp "about the number of calls he received" from former Dir Peter Serrao. Cordwell was "not the only Eels official frustrated with what he perceived as a lack of action from the NRL." In his interview with NRL investigators, Sharp claimed he "tried to contact Smith on a number of occasions to discuss the situation only to be rebuffed" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 7/12).
