NRL players in Origin, season media blackout as pay war escalates

Zoe SamiosBusiness reporter

Updated Jul 5, 2023 – 3.05pm, first published at 1.31pm

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Rugby league players will boycott all NRL and State of Origin match interviews in a dramatic escalation of a dispute with the governing body over changes to pay and work conditions.

More than 50 players across NRL Clubs voted unanimously to take industrial action, effectively rejecting a final pay offer from Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys after a meeting late on Tuesday.

Zoe Samios covers wagering and the business of sport from the AFR's Sydney newsroom. She was previously the media and telecommunications reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and covered media at The Australian.