Details of National Rugby League side Cronulla Sharks' salary cap investigation "are beginning to emerge," according to FOX SPORTS. Fox NRL expert Paul Kent "alleged illegal payments were made through a club employee directly to the players involved." Kent: "We have to be careful because at the moment we're not quite sure and it's still early days. It appears payments were paid to someone at the club who was essentially overpaid and the money he was paid was then passed directly onto the players." It is understood club CEO Barry Russell "initially discovered" a A$50,000 ($36,500) payment made to a player in '15 when he audited the club’s books at the beginning of the season, and "self-reported the findings to the NRL" (FOX SPORTS, 8/28). In Sydney, Adam Pengilly reported the "beleaguered" Sharks insisted they have "nothing to hide from the NRL’s widening probe." Russell "stressed he was not aware of any breaches relating to last season," when the Sharks "managed to keep together much of their maiden premiership-winning squad." It is expected an outcome will not be reached "until after the grand final, in which the Sharks are tipped to feature after emerging as the NRL’s form team in recent weeks." Russell said, "We have nothing to hide. I want to get to the bottom of any issues or discrepancies, which I believe we’re doing. I've allowed the integrity unit to come in and download information from our server and other information or hardware they required. Our club is being fully cooperative" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/29).
