CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

The NRL has fined the Manly Sea Eagles $750,000 for breaches of the salary cap over the past five years, while two officials have also received 12-month bans.

“What we have found is that hiring former footballers to run a professional sport franchise is probably not the best way to go” said club CEO Joel Surfiekhunt.

“Especially when most of them have no experience in the roles we give them,”

“I’m pretty much the only bloke in this building that hasn’t actually played for this club, and I’d be out of a job in a second if John Hopoate decided he wanted to be CEO”

As is tradition in professional rugby league, the moment a star footballer retires from playing, they are automatically placed into a bizarre off-field role within their club.

A good example of this can be seen in Alfie Langer, who is currently working as the groundskeeper for the Brisbane Broncos training facilities in Red Hill, or Matt King, who is now a receptionist at South Sydney juniors.

Mr Surfiekhunt says it has the entire club baffled as to how Steve Matai was unable to keep the club’s books in order.

“The Hitman seemed like a pretty good candidate for the club accountant role when we first hired him,”

“But, yeah, he’s kind of dropped the ball here. We might have to shuffle him over to the media side of things”

With the club now advertising job opportunities for “real accountants” through SEEK, the saga that is Manly’s salary cap scandal is almost over.

A media release issued by the NRL a few minutes ago confirmed the Manly are now salary cap compliant.