RLPA boss Clint Newtown has hit out at the backlash currently being received by Melbourne Storm and Kangaroos hooker Harry Grant, following his claim that some young fringe NRL players could be better paid by an apprenticeship than their NRL development or train-and-trial contract.
Grant's comments came as a response to questions about the current state of pay as the NRL and RLPA continue to negotiate the terms of the next CBA and stoked the ire of both fans growing frustrated with the situation and even ARLC boss Peter V'Landys, who hit back claiming “I don't know many carpenters earning $500,000 a year”.
Newton has responded to the backlash, reiterating that Grant was speaking on behalf of the players who don't have the opportunity to voice their concerns. He also pointed to the amount of sacrifices the players made to keep the game alive for the very same corners of the community that are vocally criticising Grant now.
“What Harry was doing was trying to protect the guys at the bottom,” Newton told the Daily Telegraph.
“Of course players at the top end are on decent money, and so they should be. That's not what he was saying.
“Players are very happy to play rugby league and they love the game. They just want to make sure their share of revenue reflects their contribution, and that the guys at the bottom of the list and past players are still looked after.
“The one thing I've said consistently is that I've never been prouder of the playing group. This is a group that has consistently done everything it can to look after the players at the bottom of the list.
“We saw that during COVID, where Origin players took 50 per cent reductions to push money through into the salary cap which allowed us to ensure minimum wage players don't go backwards, particularly those guys on or around the $80,000 mark.”
Aspects of the negotiation look close to being concluded, but there are still concerns that the NRL's preference to deal with clubs first may affect the RLPA's negotiating ability.
The talks were initially expected to be completed by mid-season, and then again by October 31, when the previous arrangement expired.
“The fact is, by players advocating for improvements in their terms and conditions, that absolutely has an impact on the future of the game.
“We should all be pointing to our code as industry-leading, the gold standard.”
Despite the increasing acrimony on either side of the ongoing debate, Newton has insisted the RLPA aren't out for blood, refuting suggestions they'd like to see a change at the top.
“One of the things that gets spoken about is that players or us, we're looking to remove people from the game. That couldn't be further from the truth. What we want is passionate people leading our game.
“Peter (V'landys) is clearly passionate about the game. What I'd like to believe is the Commission, which is clearly led by Peter as chair, understands our claims, respect our claims and respect the role of the players.
“If we were all moving in the same direction, we could be a formidable force in Australian sport.”
