NRL hands down Cronulla Sharks salary cap penalty

The honesty of CEO Barry Russell has saved Cronulla $500,000 in salary cap fines but the Sharks will still be forced to offload a player before the start of the season.

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The honesty of Cronulla Sharks CEO Barry Russell has saved the club $500,000 in salary cap fines.

The NRL announced the club was to be fined $750,000 but reduced it to $250,000 because Russell self-reported.

But in a blow for the Sharks the club will play $350,000 under the salary cap for the next two seasons.

This will force the Sharks to offload a player before the start of the season in order to be under the cap.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg handed down a raft of sanctions. Picture: Matrix

NRL chief operating officer Nick Weeks said salary cap rorting would be discovered in the end and it was in the best interest of all clubs to self report when discrepancies arose.

“We expect clubs, when they identify conduct in their club, to come forward and notify the NRL. Barry Russell did that,” Weeks said.

“Had that not have occurred the sanction we impose today would have been much larger.”

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg praised the Sharks boss for his approach to the matter.

“Effectively, through his conduct, Barry Russell has saved his club half a million dollars in cash,” Greenberg said.

Sharks boss Barry Russell self-reported cap issues last year. Picture: Brett Costello

The NRL has also determined that former Sharks coach Shane Flanagan would remain deregistered for an indefinite period.

The Daily Telegraph earlier this week reported that Cronulla would try and shed a mid-tier player such as Jayson Bukuya, Kurt Capewell or Jayden Brailey if they were forced to move someone on.

If other clubs fail to sign the mid-tier player on offer, Cronulla may then be forced to look at moving a higher-profile player.

Speculation is already surrounding centre Josh Dugan.

Canberra have indicated they would sign halfback Chad Townsend but the Sharks are reluctant to release their grand final-winning No.7.