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Eels consider response to possible points penalty for alleged salary cap breaches
an hour ago
DAVID RICCIOCHIEF SPORTS WRITERThe Daily Telegraph
PARRAMATTA would consider fielding an NRL side full of park footballers, immediately shedding players who have already signed with rival clubs and begin preparing for 2018.
In what could have a major and detrimental impact on TV ratings, crowds and interest, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Eels powerbrokers have discussed how they plan to react, if the NRL rubs the club out of the finals race by docking them competition points for alleged salary cap breaches.
Having analysed more than 700,000 documents, the NRL are in the process of finalising their determination from the lengthy inquiry, with a decision on potential penalties expected to be handed down in the next 72 hours.
It has been widely reported that if found guilty of third-party deal cheating, the Eels face a multitude of penalties including the removal of key club figures caught up in the scandal, a huge monetary fine and the loss of points.
Currently sitting on 12-competition points, the Eels have won six of their nine matches this season.
12 wins — or 28-points — is considered the top-8 cut-off, meaning the Eels only need to win six of their remaining 15-games to remain in top-8 contention.
However, with speculation that the NRL are considering docking the Eels eight competition points for salary cap breaches, they would then need to win 10 of their final 15-matches — not an inconceivable task.
But should the Eels be docked more than eight-points, they will almost certainly miss the finals, ensuring that the remainder of the season is effectively a waste.
It’s why Eels heavyweights have spoken about resting their biggest names, as opposed to playing at the risk of injury.
Playing in front of 31,815 fans against Canterbury at ANZ Stadium last Friday night, the Eels desicion to preserve their best players for 2018 would undoubtedly impact their home crowd figures and TV interest.
The immediate release of players, including Junior Paulo, who has signed a deal to join Canberra next season, would also allow the Eels to save money on their salary cap for 2018.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg wouldn’t indicate when a decision would be made, saying only that his priority was putting the game first.
“This has been a thorough and diligent process but we are confident we will come up with the right resolution,’’ Greenberg said.
“This has been one of the toughest investigations we have undertaken ... the Integrity Unit has gone through more than 700,000 documents.
“So it has been an exhaustive process but the important thing is that we put the game first at all times.”