AAP Rugby

Players to cover NRL logo as bargaining battle hots up

By AAP Newswire

Jul 27, 2023

Newcastle Knights player Tyson Frizell runs out for a match. — Players will cover the NRL logo on their shirts as the collective bargaining battle hots up. -AAP Image

Players are set to cover the NRL logo on their jerseys this weekend in protest at the stalled negotiations over a fresh collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

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NRL and NRLW players will take part in the action as the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) turns up the heat on head office.

The move comes shortly after the RLPA introduced a boycott of player media duties on matchdays.

Covering the NRL logo on team jerseys was floated in the pre-season tournament before players called off their action, but they are set to follow through in the NRL's upcoming Women in League round.

The RLPA have called for an independent mediator to resolve the stalemate after the NRL submitted a 'take-it-or-leave it' offer - but the union's requests have fallen on deaf ears.

The players' organisation says the NRL made "100 unreasonable and unacceptable changes" in their last offer.

The escalation in action is due to what the RLPA views as the NRL's failure to get a bargaining agreement finalised, nine months after the previous arrangement expired.

Male players are operating on the terms of the previous CBA, while the women's game has yet to get a fully fledged agreement of its own.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press