Wayne Bennett has predicted unrest among NRL clubs over the tax-free salaries the PNG Chiefs can offer players for their inaugural 2028 season, calling the advantage 'really unfair'. The veteran South Sydney coach said the NRL had also disadvantaged next year's entrants Perth, claiming prospective recruits would face an easy decision in choosing between the two expansion sides.
Tweaks to Australian tax laws expected in this month's federal budget will mean players and staff at the Chiefs do not pay tax on their salaries. The move was designed to entice players to the Government-backed team, which is seen as a means for Australia to strengthen diplomatic ties in the Pacific. This week's signing of four-time premiership winner Jarome Luai was the first marker of the Chiefs' potency on the player market.
Bennett, the last man to coach an expansion side in its first season as ex-Dolphins boss, voiced his concerns on Saturday. 'They've got a hell of an advantage. They've got a different salary cap to the rest of us,' he said. 'When the Dolphins came in, we didn't get one exemption from the game. Personally, I think that's really unfair.'
The exact salary cap for 2028 will be determined by the next collective bargaining agreement but will sit above $12 million for a top-30 squad in the Chiefs' first season. Playing contracts must be registered and approved by the NRL, which would not sign off on the Chiefs low-balling players on the understanding they would dodge tax. However, Bennett said the tax-free salaries were an enormous bargaining chip.
'There's going to be a blow-up somewhere with it because clubs have worked really, really hard to develop players under salary cap pressure,' Bennett said. '(They) are going to find it just about intolerable to see their players leave when they can't give them the same deal that you can get somewhere else because of the salary cap exemptions.'
Bennett also worried for the Perth Bears, based in AFL heartland and playing their first season next year without extra NRL assistance. He said it would be tough for Mal Meninga to recruit players in the shadow of the Chiefs. PNG international Alex Johnston is expected to become the Chiefs' second signing after triggering a clause in his Souths contract that permitted early negotiations with the Port Moresby side.
