When the RLPA lodged a 65-page document with the NRL, ahead of the current collective bargaining agreement negotiations, two demands – a free subscription to Foxtel at the players' union's Homebush headquarters and hosting and hospitality rights at every NRL game – sent club executives into a rage.

"It's not the first time I've heard this," RLPA chief executive Ian Prendergast said when contacted about the fury over the claim, defending it on the basis that players like to watch Fox Sports while they are waiting in the foyer of the Homebush office and that RLPA board members should be able to watch games from the comfort of a catered box because they provide their services for free.

RLPA boss Ian Prendergast has swapped notes with his cricket and Australian rules union counterparts. Credit:John Veage

The Foxtel/corporate box demands, as well as a request for 1000 grand final tickets, are likely to shift to the bottom of what the NRL describe as an ambit claim, with the

RLPA document suggesting the players' union is more focused on establishing a governing partnership with the NRL.