The Rugby League Players Association has "fired its latest warning shot across the bow" of the National Rugby League and some of its clubs, according to Brent Read of THE AUSTRALAIN. The RLPA insisted that the salary cap for next season is "far from set in stone and clubs should bide their time before looking to shed players under contract." The NRL has tabled a cap of A$9.2M ($7.3M) for '18 and while most clubs are believed to have "operated within that figure," it is understood "at least two are above the mark." Those clubs are "facing the prospect of being forced to move players before the start of next season" unless the RLPA can convince the NRL to increase the offer. The parties are expected to hold further discussions on Tuesday and RLPA CEO Ian Prendergast is hopeful NRL CEO Todd Greenberg will be "in a position to take something to a meeting of club officials next week." The salary cap and the players' pursuit of a guaranteed share of revenue "remain the biggest bones of contention between the NRL and RLPA." Prendergast said, "The salary cap figure is yet to be agreed upon, with negotiations still ongoing to determine what that number will be. Therefore it's jumping the gun to speculate about the implications of a salary cap figure that is not yet finalized" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/8). In Sydney, Chris Barrett reported if the cap goes up, "it stands to get a frosty reception" from some clubs that have been operating around a A$9.2M ceiling in '18. There are also concerns about "what impact a higher bar for player payments might have" on the ability of a "cash-strapped" NRL to provide clubs with a A$3M ($2.4M) buffer above the cap in annual funding it has promised will average out at A$13M ($10.3M) per season over the five years of the collective bargaining agreement. Parramatta captain Tim Mannah said, "It's a bit presumptuous by the NRL to say that if they haven't got the green light from us as well" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/7).
