The worst aspect of all this daily crap is for those who as fans, those of us who stood as candidates for the PDRLC boards over time, & tried to do the best for the club, players & all have in affect been shafted in what is nothing more than vengeful thinking people that sadly now put themselves above every one of the past & future players, supporters, & workers alike.
Reading all the stuff posted (including mine) for the first time since I & my late father who helped start the club, worked his butte off in those formative years in one way or another are shamed. Shamed by people who at the end of the day, could never just accept the fact that they provided wonderful service to the club, both on & off the field, yet as much as they accepted losses on the field & they held their heads high, today all are covered by the smear mud of their own self appointed importance.
I saw a long time member of the football club throw his badge on the table at the 2009 elections, I pulled out at years end & did not renew. Now, I think I will be walking away from RL altogether, enough is enough.
But things are a bit muddied or so it seems as I struggle with issues now arising that are in affect hiddden agenda papers floating around in the dark. The things that I would really love to know & have answered for me are the following items
Did the current board notify the NRL of salary cap breaches they had discovered last year, those that resulted with fines over $500K, then reduced to around $460K?,
As a second part of that question was the board co-erced- forced to reveal it to the NRL?
I ask the above only because, I understand the answers are Yes & No respectively.
As a result of the above, the club, was forced into a governance review with the threat of starting season 2016 with the loss of 4 competition points. Being in a sense led kicking & screaming to the review, which also included having the clubs books audited.
Both of these requirements were carried out, & 1: Ex NRL Salary Cap auditor/controller Ian Schubert was appointed to carry out a full investigation into the EELs salary cap. This was said to be completed & the books said to be in order.
Regarding the cap audit by Ian Schubert, were the books found ok, & no problems found?
The Governance review was carried out by PWC, a recognised firm of accountants, who also is supposed to be the clubs auditors, the NRL agreed that PWC conduct the review?
Prior to last weeks round opener against the Bronco's it was revealed that the club would start the season free of the threat of docked competition points after agreement reached between the NRL & Eels board True or false?
So, for me, & I Know I am thick, but if the cap audit was passed by Ian Schubert, should not the issues now being highlighted in the media have been discovered & any deserved penalties applied as a result.
In the same way, if PWC are the clubs primary auditors, should they also have discovered any breaches/discrepancies in the clubs books.
Todays SMH has an article that implicates former CEO as well.
Other tha that is the following article in todays ROAR online sports news.
http://www.theroar.com.au/2016/03/10/salary-cap-questions-widen-at-parramatta/
A man who gave third-party payments to former Parramatta stars Jarryd Hayne and Will Hopoate has admitted he received free corporate hospitality at Eels games.
John Iori, the owner of Rouse Hill Village shopping centre, provided $20,000 third-party payments to the pair in 2014 but also received ticketing benefits from the club.
Under NRL salary cap rules, clubs cannot compensate companies in any way for third-party payments.
“I was trying to help Parramatta and rugby league,” he told News Corp Australia.
“I thought it was legal … When I want to go down I ring up and they give me tickets.”
Meanwhile, it is also alleged the club decreased the financial sum of a sponsorship from a sporting goods supplier to allow the company to make payments to former player Ben Smith.
The $27,500 payment made to Smith was used to compensate an unpaid third-party contract of the same amount from a legitimate contract organised between Smith and a financial services group in 2013.
Allegations have also been made that both Semi Radradra and former player Richie Fa’aoso had an apartment provided to them by a real estate agent.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing from any third-party sponsor or player.
The revelations follow reports on Wednesday of leaked minutes from board meetings that highlighted “the importance of servicing third-party agreement providers accordingly with hospitality and player appearances”.
The NRL has admitted they were not aware of those documents, but said they would form part of an ongoing investigation into the Eels’ salary cap matters.
Replies
Good question mate! which actually raises another question, over the years all clubs have provided housing for players, generally from the bush, have never heard if they pay rent for the houses for the players benefits, or the club owns them, but it had been seperate to any player payments, so is that breach of the cap, likewise providing after playing career training, or schooling for country/interstate players?