Fairfax Media understands of particular concern to the NRL are payments made to the club's former superstar Jarryd Hayne. A total of $52,000 was paid to Hayne despite the ex-skipper quitting the club last season in a bid to chase his NFL dream. The NRL's head of integrity, Nick Weeks, said that as a result of the Fairfax Media investigation, salary cap auditors would be looking into the allegations. "The salary cap is one of the main reasons we have the closest sporting competition in Australia," Weeks said. "We have already shown that we are prepared to take a hard line against breaches and these allegations will be investigated by the salary cap auditors. "If these allegations are confirmed then the NRL will take appropriate action to ensure the integrity of the competition." Sources told Fairfax Media that off-the-book payments, alleged to be worth over half a million dollars, were overseen by Roy Spagnolo during his tenure as chairman.

Fairfax Media does not suggest any of the players knowingly breached the salary cap. The Eels already face the prospect of starting next season on minus four points for unrelated salary cap breaches, having been fined $525,000. The NRL and the Eels have been at loggerheads over who should conduct an independent review of the club's governance demanded by the league. The four-point penalty is suspended and conditional on the club carrying out the review to the league's satisfaction. Because this investigation is unrelated, the Eels could be dealt further penalties on top of the ones already imposed should the NRL find them guilty of again breaching the cap. The NRL requires that every third-party arrangement must be disclosed to them whether or not the payment is guaranteed or facilitated by a player's club. Players who accept third-party deals without the contract being lodged with the NRL run the risk of being short-changed should their relations with the club sour.

Meanwhile, Parramatta Council plans to debate next week the merits of providing what critics say could be interpreted as third-party sponsorship for the city's NRL team. It was suggested the council would consider paying $75,000 towards a first-grader and the word "ambassador" would make the possible use of rate-payers money towards an athlete making hundreds of thousands of dollars more palatable. The council has refuted there was any intention to discuss money at the meeting. However, a Parramatta insider described the possibility the council could pay money to the club an "insult" to the district's rate payers. Parramatta Councillor Pierre Esber spoke about the ambassador program with radio host Ray Hadley on 2GB on Friday morning and said the council would discuss the financial payment between the club and the council on Monday night but a spokesperson from Parramatta Council said he provided the wrong information. "You'd have to ask him how he got it wrong," the spokesperson said. The Eels have not made the finals since 2009, and finished with the wooden spoon in 2012 and 2013. They sit 11th on the premiership ladder and are unlikely to finish in the top eight this season.

- with Daniel Lane