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Ninjadillo
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THE NEWS could get even worse for Cronulla, with one of the club's sponsors understood to be re-evaluating its deal in the wake of the allegations of sexual misconduct by Cronulla players in Christchurch in 2002.
The Herald was told yesterday that the sponsor, concerned about the revelations of group sex on the ABC's Four Corners program, was "nervous" about its continued involvement with Cronulla because of the tawdry nature of the issue.
Cronulla are already struggling with cash-flow problems, which led to the club recently making a bid to play five games at Gosford's Central Coast Stadium next season - a request rejected by the NRL.
Sharks chairman Barry Pierce, who was also the chairman in 2002, did not return the Herald's calls yesterday but the club's media manager, Rob Willis, forwarded a reply from Pierce at 5.45pm to say he was about to enter a leagues club board meeting and would be uncontactable.
At the time of the police investigation into the Christchurch incident, Pierce was quoted as saying: "I've spoken to our players that were in New Zealand and I'm very comfortable with what they told me."
NRL chief executive David Gallop said yesterday Cronulla had "got on board" the league's push for cultural change, adding: "Barry, like many others, will have taken on board the lessons from that episode. I'm sure he's been part of learning some new protocols around these issues since 2002.
"I don't think he [Pierce] would sit here today and say that he now feels entirely comfortable with his approach back then."
Gallop said Cronulla's strong action against players in the past two seasons was a sign the Sharks board had changed its tune with regards to behaviour.
The club stood down and then released star Greg Bird before he was convicted for assaulting his girlfriend in 2008. It also fined halfback Brett Seymour $20,000 and stood him down from two NRL games this year when vision of him being drunk and tackling a female was aired on television.
"[The] club in recent times, as we see, has taken very strict action against players who have misbehaved at that club," Gallop said. "I'd like to think they are an example of a club that has got on board with the cultural change that we are trying to implement."
Gallop said he would contact sponsors of the NRL to reaffirm the code's commitment to cleaning up the sport, and revealed a major sponsor had expressed concerns about poor player behaviour after revelations of this season's misdemeanours.
Gallop said he hoped no sponsors walked away from the game, adding: "I certainly hope not, but I've got no doubt that they will be sitting back and watching the reaction.
"They want to see that we are taking these matters seriously, and I can, with confidence, say we are treating them very seriously and we have treated them very seriously in the past.
"We certainly need to speak to our sponsors. Our clubs and our players are acutely aware that this kind of issue damages those commercial relationships."
Gallop said he couldn't put a financial value on how damaging the scandals were to the code.
"It is too difficult to measure, but I have got no doubt it does do us damage, not only with our big commercial partners but also with ordinary Australians who love rugby league," he said.
LeagueHQ
The Herald was told yesterday that the sponsor, concerned about the revelations of group sex on the ABC's Four Corners program, was "nervous" about its continued involvement with Cronulla because of the tawdry nature of the issue.
Cronulla are already struggling with cash-flow problems, which led to the club recently making a bid to play five games at Gosford's Central Coast Stadium next season - a request rejected by the NRL.
Sharks chairman Barry Pierce, who was also the chairman in 2002, did not return the Herald's calls yesterday but the club's media manager, Rob Willis, forwarded a reply from Pierce at 5.45pm to say he was about to enter a leagues club board meeting and would be uncontactable.
At the time of the police investigation into the Christchurch incident, Pierce was quoted as saying: "I've spoken to our players that were in New Zealand and I'm very comfortable with what they told me."
NRL chief executive David Gallop said yesterday Cronulla had "got on board" the league's push for cultural change, adding: "Barry, like many others, will have taken on board the lessons from that episode. I'm sure he's been part of learning some new protocols around these issues since 2002.
"I don't think he [Pierce] would sit here today and say that he now feels entirely comfortable with his approach back then."
Gallop said Cronulla's strong action against players in the past two seasons was a sign the Sharks board had changed its tune with regards to behaviour.
The club stood down and then released star Greg Bird before he was convicted for assaulting his girlfriend in 2008. It also fined halfback Brett Seymour $20,000 and stood him down from two NRL games this year when vision of him being drunk and tackling a female was aired on television.
"[The] club in recent times, as we see, has taken very strict action against players who have misbehaved at that club," Gallop said. "I'd like to think they are an example of a club that has got on board with the cultural change that we are trying to implement."
Gallop said he would contact sponsors of the NRL to reaffirm the code's commitment to cleaning up the sport, and revealed a major sponsor had expressed concerns about poor player behaviour after revelations of this season's misdemeanours.
Gallop said he hoped no sponsors walked away from the game, adding: "I certainly hope not, but I've got no doubt that they will be sitting back and watching the reaction.
"They want to see that we are taking these matters seriously, and I can, with confidence, say we are treating them very seriously and we have treated them very seriously in the past.
"We certainly need to speak to our sponsors. Our clubs and our players are acutely aware that this kind of issue damages those commercial relationships."
Gallop said he couldn't put a financial value on how damaging the scandals were to the code.
"It is too difficult to measure, but I have got no doubt it does do us damage, not only with our big commercial partners but also with ordinary Australians who love rugby league," he said.
LeagueHQ