Australia Captain Confident of NRL CBA Deal

Australian rugby captain Cameron Smith has announced his belief that the National Rugby League (NRL) players are close to accepting the Collective Bargaining Agreement, medstore despite saying the offer would be rejected just hours earlier.

Smith told Sky Sports radio that the offer made by the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC)“is going to be knocked back.”

He was much more positive at the official All Stars team photo-shoot a few hours later, following talks with David Garnsey, Rugby League Players’ Association CEO.

He said: “I obviously spoke on radio this morning about that. Since then I have had a chat with David Garnsey and he has given me an update and we are a lot closer to agreeing.”

“My comments were based on discussions we had around just before the break. I had not had the chance to speak to David or anyone from the RLPA (before the radio interview) but he has informed me that we are a lot closer to a deal. There are some points we are working through and hopefully we can get that done as soon as possible.”

The ARLC have offered to increase the NRL salary cap from $4.5 million to $6 million, steadily rising to over $7 million by 2017. They also propose to increase the marquee player allowance from $310,000 to $570,000.