Eels Blogs

Most of us, as do I , agree with Gus Gould's sentiments found in recent SMH publications, pleading that the NRL rethink TPA's if it's serious about a level playing field. However, I can’t see a major revamping of TPA's happening for a long time. The outcome of the Eels current investigation might even facilitate the status quo & continued head in the sand approach.

The NRL knows

At the very least suspects, as does the average punter, that TPA’s are being manipulated by clubs even if they won’t publically admit it.

A brief vignette into the history of salary cap breaches shows plenty of undisclosed TPA’s by various clubs over the years with the NRL often having TPA's “re-classified”. [1]

For example, the Knights received a $73,800 fine in 2000 for a $370,000 cap breach (2001 premiers) involving  TPA’s that were re-classified by the salary cap auditor. [2] Comparing apples for apples & relative to respective salary caps, the 2000 Knights breach is worse than the recent Eels 2014 breach (refer table of breaches below).

TPA's are here to stay - even if they go banana's

The NRL states that in 2015 there were $15m worth of ‘disclosed’ TPA’s , that they know of. [3] 

That’s a lot of money invested in top line players in the NRL. That’s a lot of money helping keep top line talent in the NRL.

That’s also lot to try & dissemble & tear down, based on suspicion & historical insinuations. The NRL can’t even if they wanted to.

It would potentially bring the entire notion of an “even salary” cap into question & bring the entire game into disrepute - not to mention jeopardize top line talent staying in the NRL, being lost to rival codes, setting the game back years. 

Furthermore, assuming TPA’s can be ‘bona fide’ salary cap compliant, it would also be a potential restraint of trade. You can’t stop bona fide companies wanting to sponsor & profit from marketing ‘top line talent’ – if that was the case.

The real question is, can a TPA be bona-fide salary cap compliant ? 

I think it's a naïve assumption though that companies want to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on a ‘rugby league’ face without being able to use club logos and emblems and have no marketable affiliation to the clubs they play for professionally full time – which is essentially what their entire livelihood revolves around & what gives them a ‘marketable face’. To assume, companies are happy to do all that and also have no emotional ties to the clubs is unrealistic, in my opinion. We’re not talking World Vision charities here after all.

The NRL HQ official site, doesn't share this view, proudly trumpeting “Australian Bananas” as typical bona-fide example of a TPA. [4]

 Australian Banana's : Loves bananas & Billy Slater

"Australian Bananas" & "Make your bodies sing" are bona-fide iconic slogans to promote bananas.

However, the slogans, per se, in themselves, aren't able to act as third party sponsors paying Billy Slater - so who is ? Is there a company called "Australian Bananas" ? I can't find one.

The “Australian Bananas” website at www.australianbananas.com.au doesn't tell us either. It shows Billy Slater “NRL Star” marketed free of Storm logos/references (so far so good) but also, surprisingly has: 

• No reference to a company entitled "Australian Banana's" or any company
• No reference to any 'entity', 'person(s)' or creator(s) behind the website
• No stated ABN, company status or Pty or Pty/Ltd
• No known directors &/or owner(s)
• No known address
• No contact phone number
• Links back to HIA (who fund campaigns such as this one)

You'd think, the company who did the ad campaign would want to promote itself - not hide itself - especially if it was promoting a worthy campaign, right ? So why all the mystery ?

The Horticulture Innovation Australia ("HIA") www.horticulture.com.au fund marketing campaigns promoting horticultural goods such as bananas in Australia. So, are they funding Slaters campaign ? It's not clear. It's not stated anywhere - unless wearing a website & "Make your bodies Sing" top is considered prima facie proof.

What is clear, though, is HIA has been funding "Elevencom" for the "Make Your Bodies Sing" Australian Bananas campaign for a few years, from at least 2012 - and "Elevencom" have no direct affiliation back to the Slater nor the www.australianbananas.com.au website which Slater is advertising.

"Horticulture Australia Limited engaged "Elevencom" to refresh the iconic “make those bodies sing” campaign for the Australian Banana industry. To attract a new young adult audience, Elevencom created a new logo and a fully integrated campaign positioning bananas as nature’s energy snack. We have just launched the second phase of the campaign which focuses on longer lasting energy. Elevencom is also working with the Australian Grape, Mango, Cherry, Pineapple and Stonefruit industries through Horticulture Australia. (refer www.elevencom.com.au )"

So if HIA haven't been funding Slaters Australian Bananas campaign since at least 2012 - who has & are they still sponsoring Slater ?

I'm not saying there isn't a bonafide TPA somewhere in the equation behind Slater - as there might be one hidden somewhere - but there is enough nebulousness to suggest that clarification & evidence should be sought by the NRL, especially if the mysterious Australian Bananas sponsor has had a TPA post 2012.

Considering the NRL has traditionally not been forthcoming in their transparency of releasing other TPA’s details ( due to “privacy” issues ) you’d hope there were more convincing cases or that the NRL had in fact done their due diligence.

Why the Eels might be the perfect TPA ‘scape-goat’

The least line of resistance and mostly likely route the NRL will take, in the Eels current media scandal, that requires minimal effort for maximum bang, is to punish any significant breaches with a ‘big stick’. To set a ‘line in the sand’ ‘TPA precedent’.

This would demonstrate not only their ability to uphold the rules & promote a cleaner cap by deterring other clubs but also maintain the current status quo, without major widespread upheavals to the current salary cap system & revamping of the TPA - isolating the damage & ‘problem’ to the Eels club & minimizing damage on the wider scale. Call it risk-management.

They would have plenty of justifiable reasons too, to ensure it will be clearly an open & shut case - especially if (and what it all hinges on) is if there is irrefutable evidence of "ongoing" TPA manipulation over a number of years.

Also, the Eels club has arguably the most politically dysfunctional with in-house fighting & mismanagement which renders it a perfect candidate as a salary cap basket-case that the PWC recommendations & reform was meant to ‘fix’. The fact it may of concealed deeper issues doesn’t bode well.

Even prior to this current ‘TPA scandal’ the NRL stated were very concerned about the Eels governance & “ongoing” cap mis-management, despite from a historical perspective the Eels 2014 cap struggling to make the semi-finals of salary cap breaches (refer table below).

In late May 2015, then head, Dave Smith, stated in relation to the Eels 2014 salary cap breaches:

"Nobody wants to take competition points away, but... This didn't go wrong overnight, this has gone wrong over a number of years. .. We have to continue to take a hard line against breaches, particularly where a club's governance and compliance systems are demonstrated to be inadequate.”[4]

Top breaches in NRL History [5]

Since 2000, every year on average 4-8 clubs are fined for cap breaches, whilst history already suggests the NRL is getting tougher , not softer, contrary to popular media opinion.

History also suggests, even if it determined we are salary cap compliant for 2016 the NRL may derail this year & potentially the 2017 campaign - even allowing for the 4-point maximum non-appealable caveat.

More than 10 years ago, the Warriors self reported (we didn't) cap breaches in 2004-05 & the NRL subsequently fined & docked them 4 points for the following season in 2006 (subsequently missed the finals).

New NRL head Todd Greenburg needs to be seen as maintaining a ‘hard-line’ & image that the NRL has everything is under control, including the much maligned TPA's.

Hopefully, the NRL Integrity Unit finds nothing of significance or alternatively I'm completely wrong about all this & being a cynical old bastard. Whatever the outcome, we'll come out of it stronger than ever.

Sources:

[1] www.nrl.com/news/news/newsarticle/tabid/10874/newsid/58361/history-of-salary-cap-breaches/default.aspx, www. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rugby_League_salary_cap

[2] http://www.nrl.com/nrlhq/referencecentre/salarycap/tabid/10434/default.aspx

[3] http://www.nrl.com/nrlhq/referencecentre/salarycap/tabid/10434/default.aspx

[4] http://www.nrl.com/nrlhq/referencecentre/salarycap/tabid/10434/default.aspx

[5] www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-21/eels-cop-$525,000-fine,-face-loss-points-over-salary-cap-breach/6486424

[6] www.nrl.com/news/news/newsarticle/tabid/10874/newsid/58361/history-of-salary-cap-breaches/default.aspx, www. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rugby_League_salary_cap