TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board

FROM: Cushla Dawson

DATE: 25 May 2009

RE: Media Summary Tuesday 19 April to Monday 25 May 2009

Telstra reviews $12million sponsorship of NRL: TELSTRA yesterday ordered a review of its $12 million sponsorship of the scandal-hit NRL as league boss David Gallop refused to guarantee the embattled Cronulla Sharks' survival. Already reeling from the Matthew Johns group sex scandal and the positive drug test by one of its star players, the Sharks were plunged into further disarray yesterday when major sponsor LG Electronics announced it would pull the plug on its $700,000 deal at the end of this year.

Kiwis star eyes revival against Warriors: Kiwis forward insists it's the best move he ever made. Shame about the results. While Harrison is in the form of his career in his first year in , his Raiders are on a four-match losing streak as they host the on Sunday after a performance their coach David Furner described as "bordering on embarrassing".

Fien seeking new club for 2010: will not be at the Warriors next season, the club instead banking on development of its juniors and waiting to see if will go around another year. Fien was yesterday dropped from the starting 17 for the trip to Canberra this weekend and was told by coach Ivan Cleary that his contract will not be extended beyond the end of this season.

Telstra reviews $12million sponsorship of NRL TELSTRA yesterday ordered a review of its $12 million sponsorship of the scandal-hit NRL as league boss David Gallop refused to guarantee the embattled Cronulla Sharks' survival.

Already reeling from the Matthew Johns group sex scandal and the positive drug test by one of its star players, the Sharks were plunged into further disarray yesterday when major sponsor LG Electronics announced it would pull the plug on its $700,000 deal at the end of this year.

Mr Gallop refused to throw the club a lifeline to drag the club from a $10 million black hole.

In a sign the ongoing succession of scandals threatened to envelop rugby league as a whole, new Telstra CEO David Thodey has called for an urgent briefing into its $12 million a year sponsorship of the NRL competition.

A Telstra spokesman declined to comment on the code's recent scandals, but The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Mr Thodey has ordered a review of its financial support for the competition just three days into taking on the company's top job.

Mr Gallop is believed to have made contact with Telstra - the game's naming rights sponsor - in a bid to reassure the new management during one of the most scandal-plagued periods in league history.

In his latest efforts to guide the game to solid ground, Mr Gallop will demand answers from the Sharks board and discuss the club's dire financial situation and off-field dramas at an emergency meeting today.

The move followed calls for the club's directors to sack themselves in the wake of the group sex scandal and star Shark testing positive to the banned substance Clenbuterol.

"We have had concerns for Cronulla for some time but recent events such as losing their major sponsor for next year have only put their financial plight into greater focus," Mr Gallop told The Daily Telegraph.

"Things have reached a point where we need the entire Cronulla board to give us an answer as to how they will meet the challenges ahead."

These include allegations Sharks players were introduced to sex workers in their dressing room and CEO Tony Zappia paying a former female staffer $20,000 after she suffered injuries when he accidentally punched her. The club has denied ties to a sex shop proprietor but will answer to Mr Gallop in a full briefing due at crisis talks scheduled for midday today.

Already $9 million in debt, Cronulla has now in quick succession lost sponsorships worth $1 million, including LG, Tyrepower ($70,000), Wendy Wu Tours ($35,000) and the Australian Mushroom Growers ($15,000).

Westfield Miranda also raised concerns about its $15,000 association with the Sharks, before confirming it would honour the deal.

LG had been a sponsor for the past nine years, but even crisis talks with Mr Gallop on Monday failed to convince them of renewing the deal.

"We have had a successful association with rugby league and the Sharks but we no longer see the benefits," LG's statement said yesterday.

"This deal was due to finish this year and we will not be renewing it."

Despite a $1.5 million licensed club grant and finishing equal first in the minor premiership, the Sharks last year recorded a $500,000 loss.

The NRL will consider loaning Cronulla money to ensure 16 clubs remain in the NRL - however Mr Gallop said it could not guarantee any club's long-term financial future.

"Obviously they've got some big issues ahead of them," he said.

"I've said for some time we don't have a blank cheque for any club but certainly we will do what we can to look at their financial situation to see if there is any way through it. I cannot guarantee anything at this point."

Under its current broadcasting contract, Channel 9 and must cover eight games each weekend - making the 16-team format and the Sharks survival crucial.

Mr Gallop yesterday reminded players of "the responsibilities they face in projecting a positive and professional image for themselves, their club and the game of rugby league".

"We will continue to work with the game's sponsors to reinforce the importance of our education programs, of the resolve we expect from our clubs in this area and of our ongoing commitment to disciplinary action where appropriate," he said

(Source: Holly Byrnes and Dean Ritchie, The Daily Telegraph, 22 May 2009)

Kiwis star eyes revival against Warriors Kiwis forward Bronson Harrison insists it's the best rugby league move he ever made.

Shame about the results. While Harrison is in the form of his career in his first year in Canberra, his Raiders are on a four-match losing streak as they host the New Zealand Warriors on Sunday after a performance their coach David Furner described as "bordering on embarrassing".

The 6-46 defeat to new (NRL) premiership favourites on Monday saw the Raiders' season plumb new depths under first-season coach Furner.

They've lost seven out of nine, including three of four at Canberra Stadium which was last year one of the NRL's most feared venues. Only Sydney strugglers the Roosters and Sharks sit below them on the points table.

It makes the Warriors' recent wobbles not seem so bad.

Harrison said it was a brutal morning after their eight tries-to-one defeat in Melbourne, where their forwards struggled for momentum and key playmaker Terry Campese hardly fired a shot.

"We're still pretty upbeat but we can't ignore what happened last week," he told NZPA.

"The first thing we had to do was get it off our chests. We all sat down and everyone put their hands up, including me, and admitted we made some pretty bad mistakes. It got everyone focused and we're ready for our next game." Harrison said the defeat was a simple lesson; if you make elementary errors against a star-studded team you'll get punished. The Warriors can relate after being overrun 12-34 by the Johnathan Thurston-inspired Cowboys last weekend.

It hasn't dimmed Harrison's enthusiasm for his shift south from Concord to Canberra, in search of a regular starting spot after a five-year stint with .

His career took off with a late callup for the injured at last year's World Cup, then he played a starring role in the Kiwis' pool match against England in Newcastle in just his second test.

He continued on this month with a strong first half for the Kiwis in their heavy Anzac test defeat.

The Auckland-born 23-year-old slotted into the Raiders' second row but the Cowboys and Sharks have been their only scalps to date in 2009.

"I've been really enjoying it here. I've been playing more time on the field and I've been in better form than past years.

"Everyone wants to play more time. I just wanted to find my feet somewhere else and not just be a fill-in player like I was at the Tigers.

"I've been happy with how I'm going, but a few more wins would make me happier."

Harrison said the Raiders were always confident on their home track and felt it would still be a daunting assignment for the Warriors.

"There aren't many teams that like coming here".

The Warriors are always the team he looks forward to playing, against a lineup of his New Zealand mates.

He paused when asked whether there was anyone he'd particularly like to flatten in the opening minute.

"I'll take any hit I can get," he said.

"Maybe , he was my roommate during the World Cup. But he's a great defender so he might come looking for me first."

(Source: NZPA, 21 May 2009)

Fien seeking new club for 2010 Nathan Fien will not be at the Warriors next season, the club instead banking on development of its juniors and waiting to see if Stacey Jones will go around another year.

Fien was yesterday dropped from the starting 17 for the trip to Canberra this weekend and was told by coach Ivan Cleary that his contract will not be extended beyond the end of this season.

"It's disappointing for Nathan but the coaches are looking at going forward. We told Nathan we would give him some clarity in May and we've done that," club chief executive Wayne Scurrah said yesterday.

Of Jones, Scurrah said: "We have an open mind."

Jones said when he made his comeback that he wanted to review his form and desire mid-season and the club was happy with that situation, he said.

They have cover with Isaac John, who has graduated out of the under-20s side, and exciting prospect , 18. They have just had their contracts extended, plus Aaron Heremaia who played in reserve grade for North Sydney and Balmain, and in England.

Fien's manager Jim Banaghan said he was told that the club could not afford two class halfbacks and was going to stick with Jones. "Nathan understands where the club is at, they have to make some tough decisions and he thanks them for their honesty.

"He has the highest regard for the kids coming through and he is a big supporter of the club producing players from its backyard." Fien, 29, played 91 games for North from 2000 before shifting to Auckland in 2004.

He has 105 appearances for the Warriors and though his preference was to stay, he was in demand and would have another contract in the NRL within two to three weeks, Banaghan said.

In the meantime, he wanted to regain his first-grade spot and after eight tests, again prove his worth for Kiwis selection.

"He's taken this on the chin. He sees himself very much as part of the fabric of Warriors and the New Zealand rugby league scene," Banaghan said.

* The Cronulla Sharks held a crisis meeting yesterday with their major sponsor LG Electronics which has backed the club for nine years and has agreed to provide A$700,000 ($896,000) this season.

LG is nervous about the impact of revelations about the sex scandal involving Matty Johns and others in Christchurch in 2002. NRL boss David Gallop also attended but no news was made public afterwards.

Meanwhile, the club has off-loaded A$350,000 buy Karl Filiga (previously known as McNichol) who played just one game in 2008 then suffered a pectoral muscle tear. The Wellington-born centre/backrower is yet to live up to his hyped tag as "the next ".

The NRL was buoyed by news that the Johns scandal had not impacted on crowd numbers, which averaged 20,584 at the weekend, up from 17,402 for round 10 last year.

(Source: Peter Jessup, NZ Herald, 20 May 2009)