Warriors' Mannering dismisses idea of World Cup boycott

Warriors' Simon Mannering rules out World Cup boycott. New Zealand Herald photograph by Jason Oxenham.

Warriors' forward Simon Mannering has ruled out the prospect of a players' boycott of the upcoming Rugby League World Cup.

Australian media raised the possibility last week of a strike during the World Cup, which starts on October 27, in light of the continuing inability of the Rugby League Players Association and the NRL to come to an agreement on the new collective bargaining agreement.

The NRL's new broadcasting deal, believed to be worth more than A$2 billion, comes into force next year but there is still no deal on how the proceeds will be split, with the two parties said to be tens of millions apart.

The Daily Telegraph reported last week that a Cup strike has been discussed informally between the RLPA and players, but Mannering poured cold water on the idea and said he would never contemplate such an action.

"No, no way," said Mannering. "And I am sure if you talk to a lot of other guys that wouldn't as well. I definitely don't see that happening and definitely won't be supporting it."

Mannering agrees the players need to fight for a better deal, but says the World Cup would be the wrong target.

"I don't know who has tossed that up," said Mannering. "I don't think that is the way to go about it, striking at a World Cup.

"The NRL has nothing to do with the World Cup. The World Cup is a totally separate entity and the only thing that will hurt are the guys that are at the lower end that get a chance to play for their country and play [in the] World Cup. There are other ways we can try and get our point across."

However, Mannering added that he is fully supportive of the RLPA's drive to gain a more equitable deal for its members, especially those on the lower rung of the NRL ladder.

"They don't get a fair share [but] that's where the minimum wage is at," said Mannering. "At the moment there are 25 players [under the cap] but I don't know if you could name one club that has 25 players full time. It's more like 35 at least."

"From a players' point of view it's not about trying to get as much out of the game financially as we can - it's more about supporting the guys who are trying to build a career in this game."

"The guys down the lower end, who struggle to support their families. There are a lot of guys weighing up; should I play rugby league or can I go and get a job that pays a lot more?

"It's about looking after those guys, [and] looking after guys after footy, away from the field. It's not about being greedy or trying to get as much financial benefit for guys at the top end. It's about looking after the game as a whole."