Senior National Rugby League players "will be entitled to up to eight weeks of annual leave," a figure in line with their Australian Football League counterparts, as part of "a raft of proposals designed to prevent burnout." The NRL and the Rugby League Players' Association have created a committee to address welfare issues, "with a view to easing the burden on players" in time for the upcoming offseason. The working group reviewed workloads as per a "mid-stream collective bargaining review" struck between the NRL and the RLPA and focused on Christmas leave, training schedules and mandatory days off for personal and professional development. The RLPA had negotiated for all players "to receive an additional week of annual leave last year, bringing the tally to seven." But under the new recommendations -- which have been distributed to NRL clubs as part of the consultation process -- "some players will be entitled to more leave, while others will get less" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/10).
LEAGUE BRIEFS ...
Police questioned a Korean pitcher on Wednesday, looking into his "alleged engagement in a match-fixing scandal that has plagued Korea's top baseball league." Lee Jae-hak, a right-handed starting pitcher for the NC Dinos, denied allegations he had "deliberately allowed walks in the first inning of games" during the '14 Korea Baseball Organization season (KOREA HERALD, 8/10).
Prosecutors on Tuesday cleared South Korean baseball pitchers An Ji-man and Yun Sung-hwan of illegal Internet gambling charges, "but said further investigation is needed in regards to their overseas gambling allegations." The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, however, "temporarily suspended the investigation" as the whereabouts of gambling site operators who can "possibly give reference on the case have not been clear." Prosecutors have put them on the wanted list (KOREA HERALD, 8/10).
