However, Levick will serve legal papers on Parramatta on Monday and told Fairfax Media: "The fact is it's a valid and enforceable contract". The move signals the beginning of civil court action by Hopoate, which could have a dramatic effect on the club's salary cap. If the Eels are forced to honour the contract, the club would have to make other adjustments to their 2016 playing roster to accommodate Hopoate on the new deal. The alternative would be for him to play elsewhere but at this time of the year it is unlikely Hopoate could find another club willing to pay him the same amount as he believed Parramatta had initially agreed to do. Should that occur, the Eels may be forced to pay the difference between any deal he signed with a rival club, which would then be included in Parramatta's salary cap.

Eels officials are confident of reaching agreement with Hopoate for a new deal but the fact it has got to this point suggests the issue won't be easy to resolve. One option being explored is believed to be extending the length of Hopoate's contract by 12 months. However, it is understood that he could be up to $400,000 worse off over the term of the original contract if that was to occur. Hopoate's manager Tyran Smith has held numerous discussions with Parramatta's football operations manager Daniel Anderson in recent weeks but no resolution has been found. The stand-off with Hopoate follows a similar issue with Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran, whose $4.8 million contract was initially rejected by the NRL after it was discovered he had a get out clause that would trigger a $1 million payout to him if he decided to leave at any time during the four year deal. Foran has agreed to replace the clause with another enabling him to leave if coach Brad Arthur is sacked and will join Parramatta next season.

While officials blame many of their problems, including a $465,000 fine for breaching the salary cap last year, on previous management, the NRL believe each issue like the dispute over Hopoate and Foran's contracts and the departure of halfback Chris Sandow vindicate their decision to order the Eels to conduct an independent governance review and implement the changes or start next season on minus four competition points. Parramatta and the NRL are still negotiating whether the Eels have the right to choose which auditing company conducts the review. For all the latest rugby league news - visit LeagueHQ