RLPA president Cameron Smith. Credit:AAP Players stand to benefit from a pool of $1 billion over the next five years as part of the model proposed by the NRL on Friday. Club bosses have urged the players to accept the offer after a further $200,000 in discretionary spending was added to each club's total for each season. However, there remain a number of sticking points, including players' use of individual brands, injury compensation measures, integrity unit protocols, retirement accounts and wellbeing and education provisions. RLPA boss Ian Prendergast said suggestions the latest impasse was all about money were incorrect and that broader issues required addressing. "The focus publicly has very much been on the salary cap," Prendergast said.

"From the player's perspective, however, the negotiations have always been about so much more than the finances. We have been working with the NRL to deliver improvement to players and the game across a broad range of important areas, such as health and safety, wellbeing and education, commercial arrangements, integrity and player welfare. "We truly believe that this is an opportunity to fast-track the evolution of rugby league by lifting professional standards across the board. "It may in fact be that the financial arrangements don't shift that much between now and when the deal is finalised. However, if we are going to deliver a successful partnership model then we need to commit the time required to reach an agreed position around the issues that remain unresolved. We've made great progress in recent weeks, but there's still more work to be done." All parties have conceded ground in a bid to get the CBA finalised. When the NRL circulated the RLPA's initial $1 billion-plus proposal, head office claimed such a deal would "ultimately destroy the financial viability and structure of the game and its clubs". The union subsequently made a $90 million revenue stream concession and the NRL raised the cap to $9.4 million, while also conceding a $400,000 "bond" regarding behavioural issues.

It is unlikely there will be many financial changes now that the average NRL wage will rise to $330,000, but the parties are still some way apart. "We are confident a deal can be finalised if there is a commitment to intensive negotiations over coming weeks," Prendergast said. "We'll seek direction from our board over the weekend before updating players at the mass meeting on Monday then go from there." The mood of the players at Monday's meeting will dictate the next steps. About 200 are expected to be present at the Goulburn Street gathering, with about another 100 interstate players participating via video conference. The players haven't boycotted the Dally Ms since the 2003 season, a move that robbed Craig Gower of the award. Cameron Smith is likely the man with the most to lose should the players take that action again as the Storm skipper is the short-priced favourite for the gong.

As the recently appointed president of the RLPA, it is a price Smith is prepared to pay if it means promoting the cause of the players. Should a boycott eventuate, the RLPA's own awards, the Players' Champion, scheduled for September 12, will become the game's centrepiece awards night. The action that could have the largest ramifications is a legal challenge to the salary cap. The NRL, AFL and the A-League are among the Australian sporting codes with a ceiling on player payments and if rugby league was able to prove the cap was a restraint of trade, it could fundamentally shift the landscape for local sports.