I remember the discussion about the Watmough thing....it was regarding the leg injury that he received after a training clash with Beau Scott. Was not sure which way it worked , whether or not the fact it was new was okay or whether that meant it could not be done as a cap deduction upon payment of the insurance claim. Can't find the article to corroborate.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...e/news-story/10002fff329f1d4e9e87f4ba6765dff8
FOR NINE years he treated every one of Anthony Watmough’s injuries as the Manly Sea Eagles club doctor.
But in the eyes of 15,000 shattered Parramatta Eels members and fans, never has respected NRL chief medical officer Doctor Paul Bloomfield, faced a more important diagnosis of Watmough than this.
It’s Bloomfield, who worked at the Sea Eagles between 2000 and 2012 before joining the NRL last year, that will determine if Watmough’s four-year $750,000 deal with Parramatta is removed from the Eels current salary cap, due to a career-ending knee injury.
It’s Parramatta’s greatest hope of shedding the majority, if not all of the estimated $570,000 which the NRL claim the Eels are currently over the salary cap, as a result of club management’s rorting of third-party deals.
As revealed by NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg, Watmough’s medical records are yet to arrive at League Central for Bloomfield’s perusal to certify.
“There are provisions in the rules for players who retire early due to medical conditions so we would deal with that on it’s merit,’’ Greenberg said.
“The salary cap auditor has to be provided with all of the medical certificates and he has to be certain that it’s bona fide.’’
But it’s The Daily Telegraph’s understanding that Watmough’s medical documents will be presented to the NRL and Bloomfield on Wednesday.
The process of seeking salary cap exemptions is completely independent to the current insurance claim Watmough has already submitted.
There have been previous cases of club’s filing for salary cap exemption due to a career-ending injury, including former St George Illawarra and Cronulla utility Kyle Stanley, which have taken the NRL up to six months to ratify..
But in the case of the desperate Eels, Bloomfield will have just nine days — Parramatta play South Sydney on May 13 — to determine if Watmough’s knee injury is career-ending.
The doctor’s notes will then be presented to NRL salary cap auditor Jamie L’Oste Brown, who will determine how much — if any at all — of Watmough’s $750,000 salary and pay, of which can be backdated to the date of the injury occurring last February, will be removed from the Eels salary cap.
The NRL stated that only when the last-placed Eels show that they are back under the salary cap will they be permitted to recommence playing for competition points.
Greenberg also said that he was prepared to “help the club realise it’s full potential” and that the NRL were “part of the solution.’’
In the eyes of Eels officials, the fast-tracking of Watmough’s career-ending injury paperwork, is the answer towards getting back on their feet in the short-term and ensuring the 2016 season isn’t a waste.
The Eels ability to prove Watmough’s injury is career-ending will also impact their anticipated next step, which would be the offloading of current players, a difficult task to achieve in as little as nine days.
