League: Kiwis owed thousands for Denver debacle

The Kiwis rugby league team. Photo / Getty

The future of the of the mid-season Denver test remains in doubt with New Zealand and England still waiting on payment from match promoters Moore Sports.

NRL.com report that Kiwis players are due to receive the $5000 match fee in their bank accounts today with the New Zealand Rugby League forking out $100,000 after Moore Sports failed to pay the agreed fee by the July 31 deadline.

The Kiwis lost 36-18 to England in a historic test at Mile High Stadium in June and both sides are contracted to play another two more matches over the next two years subject to annual reviews.

"There's a three-year agreement afoot subject to review," NZRL chief executive Greg Peters told NRL.com.

"Commercially there are some challenges we want to work through with the promoter. We obviously want to be paid as soon as possible and we're working with Moore Sports for that to be achieved.

"The players have been paid and the two matters are not linked. The only hold-up in that was the US tax system and waiting on advice to get clarity around a correct position."

The NZRL have reportedly received partial payment but are still waiting to receive the bulk of the money from independent promoter Jason Moore, who reportedly lost $500,000 on the inaugural test.

The lure of a big cash injection was one of the big incentives for the NZRL agreeing to the fixture and concept, but they now find themselves further in the lurch after stepping up to cover the players' payments.

NRL.com report some Kiwi players were anxious about whether they would receive payment, however NZRL officials say the delay from Moore Sports wasn't a factor and they were simply working with the accountants to ensure they were compliant with the IRS withholding tax requirements.

Moore's financial concerns deepened recently after a planned snowboarding venture collapsed with a subsidiary company Moore Snow Sports reportedly going into liquidation two weeks after the Denver test.

Moore had sought to bring a 16-storey high ramp with imported snow to Sydney for a snowboarding competition later this month hoping to draw crowds in the vicinity of 30,000.

However, the event was subsequently cancelled and ticket holders were refunded.