‘We’re Not Close’: RLPA Wade Graham’s Grim Update On NRL CBA Crisis

RLPA board member and Sharks star Wade Graham has revealed negotiations surrounding the NRL’s controversial CBA are far from over.

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“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re really close at all,” Graham said on LiSTNR’s Footy Talk League Podcast.

“It’s got to the point where we might have to prioritise a few things that we can actually get across the line

“The women have to be sorted out ASAP, they need at least, a financial model.”

Players across all 17 teams have gone public in recent weeks with their frustrations over the NRL’s renewed CBA, which has so far resulted in several teams going as far as to boycott league promotional and media commitments.

Those frustrations come after the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) disapproved of the recent CBA, with the governing body frustrated over the lack of communication between the players and the NRL over the details of the new pay and salary cap structure.

The NRL in December last year revealed a 25 per cent increase to the salary cap, rising from $9.6 million to $12.1 million.

The NRLW’s salary cap model and the competition’s injury hardship fund are also among the players’ frustrations.

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