The National Rugby League on Thursday said that "it had no plans to fast-track a decision" on the future of the '18 salary cap, according to Brent Read of THE AUSTRALIAN. A day after Player Agents Association President Steve Gillis "warned of impending carnage unless some clarity was provided" around the cap for '18, NRL CEO Todd Greenberg "confirmed negotiations with the players union would continue on their existing timeline." Greenberg said, "There is a lot of players who have signed in recent times. ... We’re not going to rush a collective bargaining agreement because we need to know the salary cap. We will do it as quickly as we can but we’re not going to be forced into a timeline." Greenberg acknowledged that "some clubs and players may be left with little choice but to take a punt on what the salary cap might be" in '18. He said, "These guys are managing that on a daily basis, whether they have clauses in contracts about upskilling or upsizing, or they take a punt on what that number may be" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/2).
'CAPTAIN'S CHALLENGE': The SYDNEY MORNING HERALD reported the NRL will use the final-round game between St. George Illawarra and Newcastle "and the finals of the National Youth Competition to trial a cricket-style decision review system." Club CEOs "announced that the 'captain's challenge' initiative would be launched this weekend." The NRL said that "each captain would be allowed to challenge the referee's decision in relation to tries only and that a referral to the bunker would only proceed if a challenge was made." The NRL said in a statement that each team "will be allowed one incorrect challenge per half but there will be no limit on how many times a captain can contest a ruling by the match officials if he continues to be proven right" (SMH, 9/1). In Sydney, Christian Nicolussi wrote one thing Greenberg was sure about "was the contentious ruling regarding making contact with referees, which forced Tyson Frizell to miss a game" and effectively ended St. George Illawarra’s finals hopes.
Greenberg "had a warning for players potentially committing a similar offence." Greenberg: "It would be dreadful. And you know what? Make sure you don’t touch the referee, and you won’t have that issue to worry about. Players absolutely should be under no illusions whatsoever. If you touch a referee, there are consequences. ... There’s been a spate over the past two years, and we’re still seeing it now, where players rush in and get in the face of referees to take decisions on. We won’t stand around to watch that happen" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/1).
SINKING FUND: Read reported in a separate piece club chairs have moved to end an impasse with the Australian Rugby League Commission "over plans to form a sinking fund to protect the viability of their rivals, by suggesting proceeds from the sale of Gold Coast and Newcastle could be used to help prop up the proposal." A "sinking fund has been one of the key components of negotiations between the commission and club chairs over licensing agreements." The commission "had initially proposed the clubs set aside" A$150,000 ($113,300) apiece each year until the fund reached A$10M ($7.5M). The money would be "used to prop up any ailing clubs." The clubs "railed against that plan and have countered with a proposal that would result in the fund being partially filled by the proceeds from the sale of the Titans and Knights, the two clubs currently in the NRL’s hands" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/2).
