Rugby league in Australia finally getting tough on their poor public image.
NRL boss Dave Smith is seemingly sick of dealing with issues off the field with new drastic measures designed to clean up the image of the code.
Poorly behaved players will now run the risk of being expelled from the competition and their clubs could face up to $1 million in fines and other funding cuts.
Smith said the game needs to be seen as family friendly again saying he feels the product is worthy of people’s time.
“We’ve seen a number of incidents over a long period of time and there’s a line being drawn here that says we’re not going to accept that going forward,’’ Smith said.
“Enough is enough in making sure our players understand that.’
“(Any) Indiscretions outside the boundaries of what the general community expects, there will be consequences”.
Todd Carney was the most high-profile NRL player to feel the wrath of the NRL this season when he was sacked over a graphic photo that went viral.
The new measures should ensure Carney will never play in the NRL again, however, former players Blake Ferguson and Russell Packer want to re-ignite their careers despite being linked to assault cases.
A funding shake-up of NRL clubs, which now each receive an annual grant of $7.5 million from a central fund, will also be introduced from November 1.
Clubs that fail to meet agreed “minimum standards” will be in jeopardy of losing up to $1 million in annual funding.
But if they achieve “stretch targets” in areas such as membership recruitment, merchandising sales and ticket sales they will receive incentives.
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