fLIP
UFO Hunter
WESTS Tigers have asked players to defer the payment of wages until next year so the club can avoid breaching the salary cap by up to $250,000 at the end of the season.
Chief executive Steve Noyce said last night "several" players had agreed to the deferments and the joint venture would not be in trouble with NRL auditors. He said no player would be out of pocket in the medium term.
"Like a lot of clubs, we have rearranged some contracts because of changing circumstances," Noyce said at ANZ Stadium, where he was a spectator at the Sydney Roosters-South Sydney season-opener. "The matter has been finalised. The players have put the club first. They are not paycuts, they are deferments. These things arise when you have incentives and bonuses built into contracts."
But Noyce said he would "prefer not to" say how many players were involved or how much Wests Tigers would have breached the cap by if the deals had not been done. Asked if he had used the mechanism before at Wests Tigers, Noyce said: "No, I haven't".
Rugby League Professionals Association chief executive Matt Rodwell said he had heard of no unrest among Wests Tigers players. "They are pretty good as a group with their communication and I've heard nothing yet," he said.
NRL spokesman John Brady said: "You can't be over the cap if you haven't spent the money. It is not unusual for clubs to restructure contracts if they think they might run into salary cap trouble down the track."
Chief executive Steve Noyce said last night "several" players had agreed to the deferments and the joint venture would not be in trouble with NRL auditors. He said no player would be out of pocket in the medium term.
"Like a lot of clubs, we have rearranged some contracts because of changing circumstances," Noyce said at ANZ Stadium, where he was a spectator at the Sydney Roosters-South Sydney season-opener. "The matter has been finalised. The players have put the club first. They are not paycuts, they are deferments. These things arise when you have incentives and bonuses built into contracts."
But Noyce said he would "prefer not to" say how many players were involved or how much Wests Tigers would have breached the cap by if the deals had not been done. Asked if he had used the mechanism before at Wests Tigers, Noyce said: "No, I haven't".
Rugby League Professionals Association chief executive Matt Rodwell said he had heard of no unrest among Wests Tigers players. "They are pretty good as a group with their communication and I've heard nothing yet," he said.
NRL spokesman John Brady said: "You can't be over the cap if you haven't spent the money. It is not unusual for clubs to restructure contracts if they think they might run into salary cap trouble down the track."
