NRL players and the Rugby League Player's Association (RLPA) have been furious with the NRL over disagreements in recent contract negotiations.
The NRL regular season is currently not at risk of boycott, however, the two rounds of pre-season trials are at risk of being boycotted.
โThey won't listen to us and have driven us to this point,โ an angry,anonymous player told Wide World of Sports.
โThey ambushed us by announcing the salary cap without even informing or consulting us.โ
โNow they are trying to paint us out as greedy and money-hungry.โ
โMost of our claims are for helping retired players, the women in the game and grassroots footy.โ
โWe keep hitting brick walls and need to show them that we mean business.โ
The key incident under the microscope relates to the NRL's decision to increase the 2023 salary cap from $9.6 million to $12.1 million.
This incident was significant in the recent tension between the NRL and the RLPA as the RLPA had not been properly consulted before making the changes.
โFor a governing body to set its own salary cap disrespects the entire player representation movement and the importance of collective bargaining,โ the RLPA said in response to the salary cap changes.
In the RLPA's response they labelled the decision as โrushed' and that it โundermined the rights of players' and โdamaged the trust between the players and the governing body'.
The situation has continued to worsen once again after several NRL clubs joined in boycotting NRL media and promotional work, with players from the NRL and NRLW uniting over social media in solidarity with the RLPA.
With the first game of trials scheduled for Thursday February 9, the gravity of the situation has hit its peak.
