For years, club officials at Manly have been concerned about Mr Hayson's close friendship with key players such as Brett Stewart and Foran, who switched from Manly to Parramatta this season. Allegations: Flamboyant punter and former brothel owner Eddie Hayson denies being involved in NRL match fixing. Credit:Kate Geraghty In January last year, Mr Hayson, Stewart and two other men were spotted holidaying in Las Vegas at the Aria Resort and Casino, a luxurious five-star hotel. Apart from their overseas jaunt, "Eddie Everywhere", as Mr Hayson is referred to by club officials, was frequently spotted at various Manly hotels enjoying a punt with Foran, Stewart, recently retired player Anthony Watmough and former league great Andrew Johns. Johns had been on Manly's coaching staff for several years but his contract was not renewed this year after new coach Trent Barrett, a former Australian player, decided to go in a different direction.

This may not have been of concern to officials except that Hayson is no small-time punter. The chronic gambler has been banned from Star casino and, in February, was banned from betting with the TAB. Mr Hayson was also seen with Foran in Brisbane last month, the day after Foran's TAB account registered $75,000 worth of bets in a two-hour period. One person previously involved with Mr Hayson said it was easy to be drawn into betting beyond your means. "You might start off with $5 bets but you ended up making $5000 bets on information Eddie claimed to have received from this trainer or that jockey," he claimed. Manly officials were more concerned about what information Mr Hayson's friendships with the players might produce. "He liked to put himself in the position of having inside information about what's taking place," said a former club official. The former official said a feud developed between then coach Geoff Toovey and the Foran/Stewart group of players after Stewart's brother Glenn did not have his contract renewed.

The official speculated that Mr Hayson might have used knowledge of the players' discontent with Toovey to his own advantage. In 2006, Mr Hayson and fellow punter Steve Fletcher won an estimated $2 million on a betting plunge after allegedly receiving inside information that then Newcastle Knights star Andrew Johns would not be playing due to injury. At the time, Mr Hayson owned racehorses with Johns and his brother Matthew. A subsequent NRL investigation found nothing amiss. Fairfax Media is not suggesting that any of the players mentioned above have been involved in any wrongdoing. Inside information is everything when it comes to gambling. Senior police officers, while not referring to Mr Hayson, have expressed concern about the risks of organised crime figures infiltrating sport through associations with players.