NRL: QRL rejects cash demands

Queensland halfback Johnathan Thurston wants Origin players paid $30,000 a game. Photo / Getty Images

With the dust still settling on the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal, the issue of payment has burst into flames again, with Queensland State of Origin players pressing for more money.

However, the Queensland Rugby League has refused to dip into its multi-million-dollar war chest - said to be about A$8 million - to soothe players.

The Australian newspaper exposed the latest pressure for payments in a story which highlighted the fact the QRL would not pay Origin players more, despite its "bulging bank balance" owing much to the elite footballers who have transformed the Origin series into "a money-spinning machine".

The Australian reported that leading players have spent recent days pleading with the NRL and ARL to find money to fight off the threat of rugby union and the AFL. Yet QRL chairman John McDonald has insisted his body is more than satisfied the elite are being paid what they are worth.

Origin players receive A$12,500 per game - considerably more than two years ago but nowhere near the A$30,000 suggested by North Queensland, Maroons and Australia halfback Johnathan Thurston.

"We're happy about what they get," McDonald told the Australian. "We believe that what's generated within that particular series is what should be considered. It was only last year, or the year before that, we actually upped the ante to the current rate, which is quite a sizeable amount of money. We would like to think there is a fair payment for what they do. I know the players want to get rewarded and I think they're being rewarded very well.

"Don't forget they get all their outfits, there's thousands of dollars worth of gear they get as well. It's not is if they're not looked after. They stay in the best accommodation and what have you. When I was playing, we stayed in a one-star hotel rather than the five or six star they're in now."

The QRL isn't the only body holding significant funds. The NSW and Australian Rugby Leagues also have considerable savings stashed away, with the 'RLs' believed to have more than $12m in their keeping.

At a time when the game and its clubs are crying poor, and players are screaming for more rewards, it represents a significant amount of money. Officials, however, are giving mixed messages over whether they will increase pay for representative games.

ARL chairman Colin Love has indicated he believes payments should go up, while his chief executive Geoff Carr has been more circumspect, according to the Australian.

Meanwhile, Queensland officials are believed to have spoken to board member John Ribot at Friday night's Anzac test in Melbourne about the salary cap scandal at the Storm. Ribot, the former Storm chief executive, negotiated the contract between Cameron Smith and Fox Sports which led to the rort being exposed.

Disgraced chief executive Brian Waldron, who replaced Ribot also revealed late last year that Ribot remained a consultant to the club. When the salary cap investigation emerged, all parties denied any wrongdoing.

However, News Limited (which owns the Australian) is conducting a forensic investigation of the rorting and the Smith deal is central to that.

Former ARL chairman Ken Arthurson, while stressing he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by Ribot, questioned why a man regarded as the architect of the Super League war was added to the QRL board. Ribot has declined to answer phone calls or reply to text messages since the Storm scandal broke.

"I was astounded that he was appointed to the board of the QRL," Arthurson told the Australian. "When it happened, I spoke to John McDonald. I said, 'You're not serious about putting this bloke on the board - you must be kidding'.

"I have nothing against John Ribot personally. Naturally, I fell out with his views in relation to the Super League war. We were diametrically opposed to each other in every way. I have to say I was absolutely flabbergasted when Queensland appointed him to the board."