Salary cap probe: NRL investigates Ponga third-party deal

Brookie Bob

"I come back to you now at the turn of the tide"
Read on - there is a Manly reference:


The NRL is investigating a potential salary cap breach at the Newcastle Knights in relation to a third-party deal involving superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga.

The NRL on Monday night confirmed it was looking into the issue involving one of the game’s biggest stars.

Sources with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity to speak freely told the Herald there had been a series of meetings involving the NRL integrity unit, Knights officials and Kalyn’s father, Andre Ponga, late last week.

“The NRL is aware of the matter and is reviewing it,” an NRL spokesperson said.

On Monday night, a spokesperson for the Knights said: “All third parties are registered with the NRL. There’s no issue with Kalyn Ponga’s contract and anything to do with third parties remain between the player and his agent to resolve.”

The NRL has become involved following concerns raised by Andre Ponga, who claims his son is owed a six-figure sum from a registered third-party deal signed off on by the NRL in 2020.

The Herald is not suggesting that Andre Ponga’s allegation about non-payment is correct. Andre Ponga has been contacted for comment.

Complicating matters for the NRL is the fact it approved the third-party deal at the time. New information has since come to light which questions whether the deal was at arm’s length from the club.

The NRL’s salary cap auditor has discretionary powers to retrospectively include deals in a club’s salary cap if new information emerges, even after the expiration of a contract.

That was the case in 2018 when the NRL fined Manly $750,000 for breaches of the cap between 2013 and 2017.

The league imposed a $660,000 penalty that was applied to the Sea Eagles’ salary cap in 2018 and 2019 for breaches involving 15 players, totalling $1.5 million in undisclosed third-party deals.

If the NRL deems that the third-party deal involving Ponga isn’t at arm’s length, they can include it in Newcastle’s salary cap.

The NRL conducted an audit in 2020 to determine whether the third-party agreement was at arm’s length from the club, as per the rules, and approved the deal.

However, the integrity unit is now working with Andre Ponga and the Knights to gather more information.

The Herald does not suggest the Ponga family was aware of any possible problems with the deal.

One option available to Newcastle to keep the Ponga family happy is to pay the money themselves, but any payment made to the fullback will be added to the club’s salary cap.

Ponga’s contract is believed to be worth around $1.4 million a season after agreeing to an extension until the end of 2027 two years ago.

The Knights tabled Ponga the lucrative offer amid concerns that the superstar was tempted to switch codes to rugby union in a bid to represent the All Blacks.

At the time, Knights chief executive Phil Gardner told the Herald the club was open to the idea of inserting an “All Blacks clause” into Ponga’s new contract.

“I’d be really surprised if the All Blacks weren’t talking to him now, that’s the kind of talent we are talking about here,” Gardner said in 2020.

“He could play for the All Blacks, the Wallabies, or he may end up going to Japan or Europe. We genuinely want the best for the young man and while ever he wants to play rugby league, we want him to play here at Newcastle in an environment he enjoys.

“We have obviously put a deal forward that we believe is in the best interest of the club, but also in the best interest of him.”

The NRL did not approve the contract and required the Knights to replace the proposed All Black clause with generic player options. In 2022 those options were negated when Ponga signed an extension until 2027.

The NRL has cracked down on third-party deals since the salary cap scandal that saw Parramatta docked 12 points in 2016. The cap on combined private sector arm’s length agreements was reduced from $4.6m in 2017 to $1.5m in 2021.
 
Rugby League heartland….Ponga no association with Manly…..nothing to see…..next

Is it just me or does Ponga’s dad / manager come across as more suss than Mr Tartak?
No details as yet,so nothing to get paranoid about at the moment but Andre Ponga makes Tartak look like Mother Teresa
 
Rugby League heartland….Ponga no association with Manly…..nothing to see…..next

Is it just me or does Ponga’s dad / manager come across as more suss than Mr Tartak?
"The NRL’s salary cap auditor has discretionary powers to retrospectively include deals in a club’s salary cap if new information emerges, even after the expiration of a contract.

That was the case in 2018 when the NRL fined Manly $750,000 for breaches of the cap between 2013 and 2017.

The league imposed a $660,000 penalty that was applied to the Sea Eagles’ salary cap in 2018 and 2019 for breaches involving 15 players, totalling $1.5 million in undisclosed third-party deals."
 
"The NRL’s salary cap auditor has discretionary powers to retrospectively include deals in a club’s salary cap if new information emerges, even after the expiration of a contract.

That was the case in 2018 when the NRL fined Manly $750,000 for breaches of the cap between 2013 and 2017.

The league imposed a $660,000 penalty that was applied to the Sea Eagles’ salary cap in 2018 and 2019 for breaches involving 15 players, totalling $1.5 million in undisclosed third-party deals."
Yes, they couldn't resist the opportunity to name Manly in the article, how about including the Bulldogs and Storm for their salary cap breaches.
 
Yes, they couldn't resist the opportunity to name Manly in the article, how about including the Bulldogs and Storm for their salary cap breaches.
Are you fair dinkum?They used Manly because it’s a very similar situation.The Dogs and Storm cap breaches were systematic,perpetrated by the club.The Manly situation was due to TPA’s.No information has been released regarding the Knights/Ponga situation other than Andre Ponga going to the NRL
 
Are you fair dinkum?They used Manly because it’s a very similar situation.The Dogs and Storm cap breaches were systematic,perpetrated by the club.The Manly situation was due to TPA’s.No information has been released regarding the Knights/Ponga situation other than Andre Ponga going to the NRL
And yet what specific information has been released about those TPAs? Nothing. People are rightly angry about it for those reasons.

Presumably it’s due to confidentiality issues, re: individual agreements. However the club’s name was dragged through the mud and we’re as uninformed now as we were back then.
 
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And yet what specific information has been released about those TPAs? Nothing. People are rightly angry about it for those reasons.

Presumably it’s due to confidentiality issues, re: individual agreements. However the club’s name was dragged through the mud and were as uninformed now as we were back then.
That’s a completely different conversation to the above comments
 
I see it as 2 issues with Ponga, either

1/ Ponga senior knows/believes that the deal wasn’t at arms length and wants to get his boy, and himself as agent, the cash through the agency of the Knights, or

2/ he doesn’t know that a Third party deal, that presumably he was involved in creating as the player agent, is wholly between the player and the third party; hence not a problem for the club but wants the NRL to fix the problem of (alleged) non payment.
 
And yet what specific information has been released about those TPAs? Nothing. People are rightly angry about it for those reasons.

Presumably it’s due to confidentiality issues, re: individual agreements. However the club’s name was dragged through the mud and were as uninformed now as we were back then.
And Manly didn't cheat the cap....it was deducted from those wise NRL salary cap auditors who are allowed to show their discretionary powers (bias) that the negotiations weren't at arms length to the club.
 
I see it as 2 issues with Ponga, either

1/ Ponga senior knows/believes that the deal wasn’t at arms length and wants to get his boy, and himself as agent, the cash through the agency of the Knights, or

2/ he doesn’t know that a Third party deal, that presumably he was involved in creating as the player agent, is wholly between the player and the third party; hence not a problem for the club but wants the NRL to fix the problem of (alleged) non payment.
That pretty much sums it up.,other than the option that Ponga hasn’t met his obligations with the TPA company and they are withholding their payment and the Ponga’s disagree with this.
All TPA’s have to go through the NRL prior to approval,so unless there has been some underhanded behaviour,the Knights should be clear of any involvement in this
 
On NShift, and I've just woken up so haven't really gone through all the above but I watched a video of Gus last night on one of those shows and he said:
The Knights ticked off on it
The NRL ticked off on it
So any "disputes" are totally between Ponga and the 3rd party, nothing to do with the NRL or the Knights.
So all the medias headlines are, as always, over the top.
 
That’s a completely different conversation to the above comments
I understand your point about the relevance of the Ponga situation to Manly’s supposed breaches, Nurdborg.

The issue I think Ensign Parker has, as do I, is what exactly did Manly do wrong in the first place to warrant a fine?*

And ‘f-ck you very much’ Michael Hama.., sorry Chammas, and co. for raising it.
 
I understand your point about the relevance of the Ponga situation to Manly’s supposed breaches, Nurdborg.

The issue I think Ensign Parker has, as do I, is what exactly did Manly do wrong in the first place to warrant a fine?*

And ‘f-ck you very much’ Michael Hama.., sorry Chammas, and co. for raising it.
What exactly did Manly do wrong? Well, we fell foul of Mr Consistency is Overrated.

The NRL could have been substantially more transparent on its investigation and findings, without breaching confidentiality or any other legal restriction, but chose not to. To his credit, the former CEO was consistent in his lack of transparency.
 
Apparently this issue has been resolved and the company,Native Mineral Resources,has paid the $250K to Ponga.
On a completely unrelated note,did people know that one of the Independent Directors of Native Mineral Resources is a bloke called Philip Gardner.You may of heard of him,he’s the CEO of the Newcastle Knights.Interesting
 
Apparently this issue has been resolved and the company,Native Mineral Resources,has paid the $250K to Ponga.
On a completely unrelated note,did people know that one of the Independent Directors of Native Mineral Resources is a bloke called Philip Gardner.You may of heard of him,he’s the CEO of the Newcastle Knights.Interesting
Nothing to see here.....................

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