Pain for Broncos as Supreme Court battle begins

Court documents have raised questions about whether NSW and Australia prop Payne Haas has been paid his market worth during his time with the Brisbane Broncos.

His contract details have been laid bare in documents as he seeks to recover all the agent fees he paid to his former manager, Chris Orr, as the bitter dispute with the player agent heads to the Supreme Court.

Payne Haas is taking on Chris Orr and Pacific Sports Management.Credit:NRL Photos.

Haas’ worth is an interesting part of his dispute with Orr, but not the focus.

Haas is claiming Orr had a conflict of interest and that he did not follow the rules agents are bound by. A document filed with the Supreme Court during the week makes for interesting reading when it comes to Haas’ career payments.

Orr is yet to file his defence and did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

Through his lawyer, Abdullah Reslan, Haas has given notice to the Broncos that he is no longer managed by Orr and he is seeking to have two previous contracts he had with the management group rescinded. Haas is pursuing an “order for an account of the profits” and, alternatively, “equitable damages” against Orr, plus interest and legal costs.

The fees Haas is pursuing relate to contracts signed with the Broncos. The amounts the NSW prop signed on for are as follows: 2017 – $85,000; 2018 – $110,000; 2019 – $250,000; 2020 – $448,000; 2021 – $548,000; 2022 – $748,000; 2023 – $798,000; 2024 – $848,000.

Given Haas played for Australia in 2019 and the Blues between 2019 and 2021, and given his standing as one of the premier props in the game, I believe there is not a club in the NRL that wouldn’t happily pay him $1 million a season. Keep in mind also the 22-year-old giant won a historic third consecutive Paul Morgan Medal as the Broncos’ player of the year in September. On market value, it appears Haas will have been undervalued by about $1.5 million by the time his current deal expires in 2024.

Haas is also questioning the timing of contracts he signed with Orr’s company, Pacific Sports Management. Haas first reached an agreement with Orr after he played with the Australian Schoolboys in July, 2016. Orr emailed the Broncos and the Eels with images of the rising star and stats, saying: “We are now in a position to discuss Payne’s future.”

The Eels responded with a request to “host Payne at the footy” and indicated they wanted to begin negotiations immediately. The email was sent on July 18, 2016. Haas’ new management agreement did not begin until the following day, July 19, 2016. A flat fee in the previous management agreement was replaced in the new agreement with a 7 per cent fee, which resulted in an increase in agent fees received by Orr.

It is also claimed in court documents that Haas’ most recent management agreement was reached two days before rules were changed to allow players to cancel a management contract with three months’ notice, even though the existing deal had more than six months to run.

Haas will rely on the fact that agents have a fiduciary duty to act in their clients’ best interests.

Orr was better off, as an agent, under the old rules, while Haas was better off, as a player, under the new rules. Orr needed to supply information to Haas about how the new player management scheme would benefit him. Instead, Haas alleges, Orr did not inform him about the new scheme starting and made sure the new rules for management deals struck after November 2018 would not apply to Haas until late 2024. On November 29, 2018, Orr signed Haas to a six-year management deal under the old rules, only two days before the new rules came into force.

Eels off Scott free

Parramatta may have dodged a bullet in relation to Curtis Scott, who was arrested on historic domestic violence charges on January 5. Scott pleaded not guilty to those charges in Sutherland Local Court on January 12.

The Eels threw Scott a career lifeline in November after he was sacked by Canberra. The 24-year-old’s contract with the Raiders was torn up with two years left to run after he was charged with assault following an incident at a Canberra nightclub. Scott has pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and is expected to return to court to fight that charge in May.

Parramatta were warned about the risk of signing Scott, and that more allegations about his past were set to become public, but they went all the way down the contract path with him anyway. In the end, the NRL refused to register his contract but, for a club that is normally cautious, it was a naive approach.

Canberra officials are still angry that information about the Scott allegations was not made available to them when they signed him. The club has been slammed by Scott for failing to acknowledge and respect his mental health battles, but the Raiders say they were never given the full picture about his alleged behaviour during his time at the Storm, despite attempts to extract information from Melbourne and the NRL. With even a low level of disclosure, the Raiders say they would not have signed Scott. Instead, the Storm were willing to pay $200,000 of his deal to get him off their books.

I have interviewed people about Scott’s alleged behaviour while he was in Melbourne. It revolves around his treatment of his then girlfriend, Tay Clark. Because her family won’t go on the record, we won’t detail the precise nature of the allegations here.

What is clear, however, is Clark is disappointed by the narrative that has been presented in some sections of the media. She gave extensive evidence to the NRL integrity unit but also requested that police were not called in.

The woman who conducted that interview for the NRL, Karyn Murphy, warned Clark and her mother that, if she kept providing information, the matter would have to be referred to police. The Storm were in regular contact with Clark and her family during the whole process and there is no question of a cover-up. Clark and her family have nothing but praise for the way Murphy and Melbourne football boss Frank Ponissi conducted themselves.

Fittler prepares for on-air blues with Slater

Blues coach Brad Fittler will go head-to-head on the Sunday Footy Show with Queensland Origin counterpart Billy Slater this season, but it could be the confrontation that gives him the edge in this season’s series.

There is a new look for the show after the exit of Peter Sterling and Erin Molan. It will now be hosted by Danika Mason, and Slater will be on the panel permanently. Fittler said it won’t be easy facing off against Slater on a weekly basis, but he can see the upside.

Laurie Daley and Billy Slater will face off on the Sunday Footy Show.Credit:Wolter Peeters

“I’m competitive, and when you watched Billy play he was one of the most competitive players of his time,” he said. “It’s going to bring me angst, but that’s what I want. I look forward to discussions with him and there is one thing that he has already done for me: he’s got me focused because he will be prepared. Every time I see him I know he will be prepared and he will be professional, and that will push me.”

Queensland are going to throw Cameron Smith into the coaching mix and Fittler welcomes that, too.

“It’s the biggest game of the year and I want the best people involved,” Freddie said. “It makes the game better when you have people of his calibre involved.”

Even if he ends up on the field, near the referee?

“Put a yellow shirt on him and give him a water bottle, I don’t mind,” Fittler said.

Fittler has silenced almost all of his detractors as a coach.

“I’d like to think we are on the road to a dynasty, but there are going to be some tricky years ahead,” he said.

Boom time

The young kids like to call these kind of things a “collab”. Whatever it is, Jarome Luai is making a real mark off the field, becoming the latest superstar to join Team JBL, an American company that manufactures audio hardware.

His love of music and boom boxes is well known: you hear Luai and close mate Brian To’o before you see them. Luai will represent the audio brand in Australia.

“He’s an absolute original and connects with his fans, and we are excited to get started on a partnership that will be full of amplified experiences for Jarome’s fans,” Team JBL’s Marcus Fry said.

Hunt hunted?

Ben Hunt wants something cleared up: the Dragons skipper has heard the rumours about a switch to the Dolphins as their star signing.

The talk has even been coming out of the Dragons camp, but Hunt says that he is committed to St George Illawarra and isn’t going anywhere. He had an outstanding season last year and is settled in the area.

Hunt also takes his role as captain seriously. He is popular with his teammates, but the Queenslander is also just the kind of player the inaugural Dolphins side will need.

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.

Most Viewed in Sport

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article