League: McCracken tells court property worth $22m

Former Kiwis league captain Jarrod McCracken, who is suing fellow players for lost income resulting from an on-field injury, says the value of his property portfolio is about A$20 million ($22 million).

McCracken provided the figure yesterday when being cross-examined in New South Wales Supreme Court by counsel for the Melbourne Storm, which is one of the defendants in the case brought by McCracken.

He is suing the club and two of its players, former Kiwis team-mate Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai, for more than A$750,000 in damages and lost income.

McCracken's first-grade career ended when he injured his spine and neck in what he says was a spear tackle involving Kearney and Bai, when the Storm played McCracken's club, Wests Tigers, in a NRL match on May 12, 2000.

McCracken, 34, said the gross value of properties owned by him and businesses associated with him was about A$20 million. He added he had between A$15m and A$16m in mortgages.

He said he was currently involved in a A$20 million development in Townsville.

- NZPA