‘Complete and utter rort’: Ex-Wests Tigers boss unloads on PNG... and cops stinging Luai clause comeback

The Papua New Guinea Chiefs have thrown a spanner in the works for the NRL’s player market, hitting back at criticism after former Wests Tigers boss Shane Richardson branded their tax-free salary advantage “a complete and utter rort”.

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Jarome Luai’s highly-publicised announcement as player number 001 for the club raised plenty of eyebrows earlier in the week, some questioning the fairness of the Chiefs having a tax-free salary offering for players while the Perth Bears struggle to fill a roster ahead of their entry into the competition next season.

Clubs gave PNG approval for their tax-free benefit when they were announced as a new team last year and received $4 million each as part of the deal, but Luai’s move this week has prompted fresh concerns.

“It’s like cheating the salary cap by 48 per cent. It’s a complete and utter rort,” Richardson, who left the Tigers last year and was also formerly the NRL’s head of strategy, told CODE Sports.

“At the end of the day, this tax-free rule was always going to cause problems and it makes it even worse for Perth who can’t do it – and they come in one year earlier.

“Jarome Luai didn’t go for the challenge. He went for the tax-free money in PNG.

“This is all about money. This is what I said from the beginning when the NRL made this deal with PNG for this ridiculous exemption in the salary cap where players could earn tax-free dollars.

“It’s completely and utterly unfair. Where in the world in any sport can this be a just deal ... that one club can have a tax-free environment and all other 18 clubs pay salaries that are taxed?”

Bulldogs GM and Channel 9 personality Phil Gould also voiced concerns, with untaxed third-party agreements another massive weapon for the Chiefs to lure talent.

“You can only pay so many players that amount of money, but the advantage is, of course, if it’s proven to be true that these are tax-free dollars, it virtually doubles the contract amount that they would normally earn in Australia,” Gould said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast.

“I think with PNG those [the third-party deals] will be endless. Absolutely endless.

“They’ll have six million members. I mean, it’s quite extraordinary what’ll go on up there commercially.”

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Chiefs General Manager of Football Michael Chammas has dismissed claims around the club having an unfair advantage.

“To the people who are criticising us around having that advantage, I think it’s shortsighted because the game will benefit from having PNG thrive,” Chammas said.

“In the long-term if this works, it’s better for everyone in the game. To have a country with 10-12 million people, whose footy team is thriving, is what we want to achieve as a game.

“I can understand that clubs have self-interest in making sure they don’t lose players. It is bigger than that.”

Chammas confirming despite concerns, the tax-free break will not be going away any time soon either.

“The Australian government, the PNG government announced over a year ago their plans for it to be tax free,” he continued.

“That’s the undertaking and there’s no plans to go away from that. So, yeah, we’re completely comfortable in the place.”

Chammas later fired back at Richardson’s criticisms — and took a jab at the clause in Luai’s contract, implemented by ‘Richo’, that allowed the Chiefs to strike.

“I think it’s a badge of honour for us, to be honest with you, because I think a year ago people were saying… who’s going to go to Port Moresby? Why would you leave to go there? It’ll be a rabble, it’s a disgrace,” Chammas said on SEN.

“All these comments were being made around PNG, and all of a sudden after signing Jarome Luai, people are saying, ‘it’s unfair now’. So, the narrative has shifted in the space of 24-48 hours, and that’s just on the back of Jarome (Luai), and that’s obviously we’ve got Willie Peters there as well.

“So to us, it’s a badge of honour, that’s sort of a reflection of the person that we’ve brought in, that people are now sitting back and taking notice.

“I didn’t have an issue with what Gus (Gould) said. I don’t know what issue’s been made of what he said, so no issues whatsoever there.

“And look, Richo, we’re thankful because I guess there was a clause there that allowed us to get involved and have a chat with Jarome before April 30th. So it’s great that we were able to do so.”

South Sydney Rabbitohs winger and the NRL’s all-time leading try scorer Alex Johnston is set to join Luai at the Chiefs, with questions as to what other off-contract stars could be lured to the new club.

Two in question are Panthers guns Isaah Yeo and Brian To’o who are free to talk to clubs come November 1st this year, and come off contract at the end of 2027.

They join the likes of Liam Martin and Nathan Cleary at the club who are all free to talk at the end of this year, but Yeo and To’o in particular didn’t deny any interests in the Chiefs this week.

Considering they won four premierships in a row with Luai, and To’o in particular being a close friend, they may be tempted to join the new project.

It’s something Yeo wouldn’t rule out when quizzed on it on Wednesday.

“There’s a big long list of us off contract at the end of the year. For myself personally, I think you just have to be open minded,” Yeo said when asked if would consider PNG as an option.

“I can’t tell you what the club (Penrith) wants to do and there are a lot of dominoes to fall.

“I think, come this time around I have to be really open minded in that regard and make a call then.

“That’s what I’m thinking anyway, there might be a few of the boys thinking like that as well, that there is going to be a time when we have to be open minded and that might be this November 1.”

Yeo hinting Cleary’s contract decision will be the first domino to fall. Cleary staying could lead to a salary cap squeeze, while on the other hand it could also entice players to stay and continue to play with the New South Wales half.

Though with the Chiefs in the headlines this week ahead of their 2028 entry, there’s one club in particular who need to put a squad together now. That squad is the Perth Bears.

They have been quietly chipping away in the background piecing together a squad to begin their life in the NRL next season.

Players confirmed include Nick Meaney (Melbourne Storm), Luke Laulilii (Wests Tigers), Sean Russell (Parramatta Eels), Tyran Wishart (Melbourne Storm), Siosifa Talakai (Cronulla Sharks), Scott Sorensen (Penrith Panthers), Liam Henry (Penrith Panthers) and Toby Sexton (Catalans Dragons).

While there is a strong core of quality NRL players already signed for the Bears, the Chiefs luring a four-time premiership winning and State of Origin half as well as the NRL’s all-time leading try scorer as their first two signings has raised questions of fairness when Perth have less time to field a team.

Chammas believes the Bears won’t have any issues when their time comes in round one next year.

“Perth have put together a pretty strong roster,” Chammas said.

“I know that we have our own challenges around being so far away from Sydney, from Brisbane and they’re going to have some logistic challenges being five or six hours away (from those cities), but we know that with Mal Meninga at the helm they’re obviously building a strong roster there.”

The NRL 360 panel weren’t so sure the Bears have the stability needed to begin life in the competition well.

Perth have already seen their head of football David Sharpe resign just last week due to boardroom conflict.

Adding to concern is the fact they have a year less than the Chiefs to build a team, but without any added benefits in a Western Australia market arguably more isolated from the core NRL base of clubs than PNG.

Former Rooster Braith Anasta just one of those with issues, believing the Bears will have to “pay overs” for players which could potentially ruin their salary cap.

“If you’re going to uproot your family and be away from your family ... which 99 per cent of the players are going to do in Perth... you might as well take the (tax-free) cash (with PNG),” Anasta told the panel on Fox League.

“What they need to understand — the NRL and Perth — is ... how are they going to attract top-tier players if you’ve got all this (boardroom) mess going on?

“If you’re a player, you want to to go to a steady club, a strong club. We talk about culture and values — which is what PNG are trying to set the standard with — you’re behind the eight-ball straight away.”

It sets the scene for a potential player market frenzy come November this year.

Clubs will want to lock-in their off-contract star talent before they are free to talk to other clubs, with the PNG tax-free benefits potentially a life-changing lure too good to refuse.

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