Outgoing Bulldogs CEO Raelene Castle announced Des Hasler's contract extension on April 3. Credit:Sarah Keayes Either the clubs display questionable integrity now by refusing to honour a contractual obligation to an employee or they lacked it before by misleading the media, fans and their own members when they announced Des Hasler and Neil Henry had re-signed. On April 3, Dogs CEO Raelene Castle was quoted as saying: "We are extremely pleased that negotiations have resulted in Des remaining at the club until the end of the 2019 season. "This contract extension builds on the last five years of growth within our football program and Des is looking forward to the next two years." Around the time Henry's clause containing a contract extension was activated, CEO Graham Annesley was quoted as saying: "It's a credit to Neil Henry, his coaching staff, and our playing group, that they've performed so well given the limited resources the club has available."

The clause in Henry's contract extending him until the end of 2018 if the Titans made the 2016 finals was widely reported and not disputed by the club at any time. I'm not questioning the honesty of the two CEOs at the time they made these statements. But we talk about players being role models; where is the moral leadership of clubs? Is the message "be a role model – as long as it doesn't hit you in the hip pocket. In that case it's every man for himself"? You might argue "this is business, there is no place for idealism". But that argument doesn't hold water when people defend players by saying they're only kids in their 20s or that they didn't ask to be role models. Setting a good example for the community is seen as something they signed up for whether they knew it or not. What have clubs signed up for by entering a team in the NRL? If they are either dudding their employees or misleading the public – it has to be one or the other – then they appear to have very few obligations beyond winning and making money.

Perhaps we should only expect players to win and make money? Goose, gander, etc. The trap we can fall into is thinking coaches are rich, or coaches and their managers should have read the fine print, or the clubs had to sack them for the greater good. Once more, we do not apply this selective reasoning when players stuff up. We expect them to reinforce to kids the simple concept of right and wrong. Why don't we apply the same standards to clubs? It's right to honour a promise, it's wrong to tell a fib or go back on your word. The word that sums all that up is "integrity".