National Rugby League side Manly Sea Eagles Owner Scott Penn "implored" the NRL's integrity unit to produce any information it has that "suggests a breach of the competition's salary cap rules after investigators descended upon the club's Narrabeen offices," according to McClymont & Barrett of THE AGE. NRL integrity unit lawyer Joe Collins and salary cap auditor Richard Gardham arrived at Manly HQ, accompanied by other forensic accountants, just after 10am on Wednesday. It marked the beginning of the NRL's investigation into "alleged previous salary cap breaches" at the club." Penn said that the visit had been "arranged by him" after he met with NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and COO Nick Weeks on Tuesday. Penn: "We've got nothing to hide. [I told them], 'If you've got something we should be worried about let's bring it out.'" The information about Manly has been obtained during the NSW Organised Crime Squad's "ongoing investigation into allegations of match-fixing." It is understood that intelligence has been gathered "about a large sum of cash being handed over in a car park" to a then-Manly player. Another Manly player is "also the subject of allegations involving undisclosed player payments" (THE AGE, 7/19).
