NRL players have taken their protests with the game over the CBA online in co-ordinated move amid their stoush with the game’s governing body with a strike still a possibility.
Roosters skipper James Tedesco was one of several players to put on a united front on social media.
“Players are UNITED. We will continue fighting for what is fair,” Tedesco posted on his Instagram.
It comes as NRL powerbrokers reportedly eased their push for a post-season trade window, instead proposing to the RLPA players will be able to sign with rivals for the following year from June 30.
The introduction of a transfer window has been one of the sticking points in the heated ongoing dispute regarding the collective bargaining agreement, according to AAP.
As it stands, players are able to sign with rivals for the 2025 season from November 1 in 2023 — affording them 15 months to put pen to paper on a contract.
The NRL reportedly put forward that players could negotiate with rivals after the 2024 grand final, leaving only four months for deals to be finalised.
Players reportedly bristled at the proposal which according to the RLPA put players careers at risk should they suffer an injury during the season.
NRL bosses have now put forward a new date, with players able to sign new deals with rivals clubs from July 2024 for the 2025 season.
Reports also suggest a mid-season transfer window between round 10 and the end of the State of Origin showcase is also being negotiated as a part of the new CBA.
RLPA members have been vocal regarding the ongoing CBA negotiations and Broncos veteran Kurt Capewell refused to rule out a player strike when speaking to AAP on Monday, prior to NRL bosses’ transfer window proposal.
The Broncos, along with a host of other clubs, refused to take part in NRL promotional duties until the matter is resolved.
Capewell accused the NRL of failing to make a sincere effort to listen to the players’ demands since the initial October 2022 deadline for the CBA.
“(The NRL) have belief if they wait it out long enough we’re just going to have to sign (but) we’re not going to stand here and cop it,” Capewell told AAP.
“We’re ready to draw a line in the sand and we’ll make a stand.
“We don’t want it to come to (a player strike) but if the NRL are going to sit on their heels and not budge, who knows where it’s going to go?”
The NRL’s salary cap is $12.1 million in 2023, a record figure and a significant increase from $9.6 million in 2022, with a rise in the minimum salary for top 30 players to $120,000.
NRLW sides have also been given a salary cap increase to $884,000 in 2023, although no season start date or length has yet been confirmed.
However, the RLPA maintain they were only informed of the details of the new salary cap hours before the announcement and Capewell stressed the players’ concerns went beyond financial issues.
