National Rugby League CEO Todd Greenberg "sought to smooth relations with furious players after Australian captain Cameron Smith joined the chorus of outrage on Monday" as the NRL pay dispute "completely overshadowed State of Origin preparations," according to Phil Lutton of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Smith had "little choice but to wade into the debate" in response to an email sent to clubs over the the weekend that suggested the Rugby League Players Association's proposed deal would "drive the code into the ground." The parties are more than A$200M ($149M) apart in their initial CBA proposals ahead of a two-day meeting scheduled to begin on June 5. The players' union believes that "key revenue streams have been omitted from the estimate," while NRL powerbrokers believe player demands, which include a 29% revenue share, "will bleed the game dry." Smith said that "there would be no backing down and refused to rule out" the specter of industrial action. He said, "No, I don't think it's unreasonable [what players are asking]. There's been a substantial increase in money come into the game and that's mostly due to the guys that are producing on the field. ... The playing group and the RLPA, we're not going to disappear. We're not going to run away with our tail between our legs. I believe there's a document been released to NRL clubs by the NRL with some fairly inflammatory wording which are completely untrue." Greenberg said that he "refused to believe industrial action would come into play" and categorized his discussions with the RLPA as "really good." He said, "Clearly we've got some work to do but I'm pretty confident we'll get it done" (SMH, 5/29).
