NRL bans agents, fines clubs and gives Tonga more time
Scott Bailey |
The NRL has banned four of the game’s biggest player agents, in end-of-year sanctions that will leave several stars without their usual manager for the start of 2026.
Chris Orr, Mario Tartak, Nash Dawson and Matt Desira were all given suspensions on Thursday for integrity matters, along with a combined $60,000 in fines.
It comes as the NRL has also threatened fines against Melbourne and the Sydney Roosters over alleged salary-cap and selection breaches.
Head office claims the Roosters breached the supplementary and training cap by $36,070 in 2024, with the club facing a fine of that value.
The Storm are also accused of twice selecting a player who was on a training contract in 2025. They are facing a fine of $25,000, with half of it suspended.
On a busy Thursday, Melbourne’s Shawn Blore was the other player to earn the NRL’s ire, handed a breach notice after pleading guilty to a common assault in Sydney last July.
In further news, it is understood head office has agreed to grant Tonga’s medical staff more time to decide whether to fight their two-year bans for the handling of Eliesa Katoa’s repeated head knocks.
But it is the four agents who were hardest hit on Thursday.
Tartak was handed a 12-month ban and $25,000 fine for allegedly communicating with an under-age player without a guardian present.
It was also claimed that Tartak entered into a commercial arrangement with two NRL clubs, in breach of the rules.
Tartak is one of the game’s most powerful agents, and has the likes of Haumole Olakau’atu and the Fainu brothers on his books.
Of his clients, Damien Cook is the biggest name off contract this year.
Orr and Dawson were both suspended for six months and fined $10,000 and $15,000 respectively over an altercation while away at a schoolboys competition last year.
Orr is the owner and director of sport at Pacific Sport Management, whose talent list includes Dylan Brown, Selwyn Cobbo, Jahrome Hughes and Valentine Holmes.
Dawson, meanwhile, looks after the affairs of Ezra Mam, Reece Walsh, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Robert Toia, among others.
Desira has been suspended for six months after the NRL accused him of “non-reporting and dishonesty following police charges and court proceedings”.
Desira looks after Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall, and recently completed long-term deals for both Viliame Kikau and Jayden Campbell.
Realistically, the impact on players will likely be minimal, with all four agents having colleagues in their company who can still handle their talent’s affairs.
Meanwhile, Tonga medical staff who were last week handed breach notices relating to the Katoa concussion will have their fate determined next year.
Head doctor Peter Hackney, his assistant Hoani McFater and head trainer Jonathan Crawley are all facing two-year suspensions from any NRL competition or ARLC-associated event.
The trio work with the Dolphins, Warriors and North Queensland respectively.
It is understood at least one of the medical staff is seriously considering challenging the sanctions.
A fourth, Warriors physio Steve Dean, was handed a formal warning.
Katoa required urgent surgery after he suffered bleeding on the brain and seizure activity following three hits to the head in the space of two hours.
The Storm second-rower was deemed not to require a full HIA after Tonga teammate Will Hopoate accidentally collected him in the head in the warm up.
Katoa then passed an off-field HIA after another head knock in the first half of the match, before his game was ended by a third knock after halftime.
He then fell ill on the sideline and was rushed to hospital, and while the 25-year-old is back running he has already been ruled out of at least the entire 2026 season.
AAP
