Slater calls on NRL, RLPA to ‘grow up’ and sort out CBA dispute

NRL commissioner Peter V’landys is a fierce negotiator, but he may have met his match in Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA) boss Clint Newton.

Newton, a veteran of 273 NRL games, is refusing to buckle in the ongoing collective bargaining saga which could escalate dramatically in the coming weeks if not resolved.

As every day passes and the warring factions remain at loggerheads, talk of strike action, media blackouts, and a boycott of the Dally M Awards grows louder.

The stalemate is now in its 20th month, and the RLPA is understood to be considering stepping up action following the NRL’s refusal to engage an industrial-relations mediator to help negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

V’landys may have saved rugby league during COVID, but his refusal to sit down and work out a solution with the RLPA is now threatening to bring the game to its knees.

Under the RLPA’s directive, players are forbidden to talk to the media over the weekend, with coaches forced to step up to do interviews for the fans.

Now, as the season moves towards the finals, the players have more power and are threatening to use it, as they did in 2003 when they boycotted the Dally Ms before getting what they wanted.

The long-running battle has reached a stage where, for the first time during this bitter CBA dispute, strike action during the NRL finals is a distinct possibility.

Former Melbourne, Queensland, and Australia star Billy Slater, who this year took the Maroons to back-to-back State of Origin series wins, has called on both parties to “grow up”.

“Seriously, both parties need to grow up and just sort this out,” the 323-game veteran urged this week.

“The media not talking to the players, this is getting ridiculous now. Can we just grow up and work this out?”

Slater said both sides had to stop being so “stubborn” and get to the table and work out a solution like grown-ups.

“Are we going to go through the finals like this? It’s not necessary,” he said.

The NRL has rejected the players’ latest demands, and the RLPA is refusing to back down on its pay and conditions claim under a new agreement.

It’s already past the push-and-shove stage and unless a resolution is found quickly, there is a big chance the NRL finals series will be disrupted.

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