NRL club bosses to consider radical plan to punish misbehaving players

The bosses of NRL clubs are set to discuss a radical new system for punishing players who misbehave off the field.

Chief executives will gather in Melbourne on Friday to talk over the idea which could see players face immediate and compulsory fines of as high as 25 per cent of their salary for misbehaving.

The Daily Telegraph reported the proposal would be similar to one introduced at Newcastle by Knights boss Phil Gardner.

Gardner fined forward Jacob Saifiti $50,000 after the prop was involved in a pub fight during which he suffered a broken leg and was knocked out. The fine equated to 25 per cent of Saifiti's salary.

Under the new proposal, a player could be fined up to 10 per cent of his salary for their first offence, and that would be increased to 25 per cent for a second offence. No player would be exempt from the fining system, and more serious infringements could still see the player sacked.

One chief executive told the Telegraph "the fines have to be substantial. It would be a compulsory fine – not discretionary. It would be a per cent of his playing fee — that would really whack them.

"Players would be fined, not suspended. A player on $1m a year, for example, could be fined for four games — a total of around $170,000."