Jim Doyle returns to the NRL to lead the crackdown on player agents

RESPECTED rugby league administrator Jim Doyle has returned to the NRL to help clean up the murky and uncertain world of player agents.

RESPECTED rugby league administrator Jim Doyle has returned to the NRL to help clean up the murky world of player agents.

Doyle, who previously spent 12 months as second in charge of the NRL before spending almost four years as CEO of the Warriors, has returned to League Central as a consultant.

He is working on several projects, but his ‘agent overhaul’ brief couldn’t be any more significant.

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Under a new plan to regulate the game’s most influential movers and shakers, Doyle is working in conjunction with the NRL legal department to write the rule book which will ensure player agents face sanctions and bans the same as any player, coach or official.

As it stands, accredited NRL agents are bound to their own accreditation guidelines and independent committee.

It’s been suggested the current structure, in part, is one reason why the NRL has struggled to bring down the hammer on any agents found to have played a role in the Parramatta salary cap scandal.

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Having obtained support and sign-off from the players via the Rugby League Players Association during the last round of CBA negotiations, Doyle has been charged with bringing the agent’s under the same NRL rules and guidelines which every other registered participant must fall under.

Doyle also has the full support of all 16 NRL clubs.

The NRL intend to set up a new accreditation committee and process which would force agent’s to register their accreditation with the NRL.

Doyle was part of Dave Smith’s administration. Picture Gregg Porteous.

Just like a player, they would then be bound by the NRL’s code of conduct and ethics.

During the accreditation phase, agents would also be required to prove why they believe they’re a suitable representative of a player.

Should they fall foul of NRL rules, they would face a breach notice and or deregistration, similar to any player or official.

The NRL want Doyle to complete the body of work so that the new agent accreditation scheme can commence from November 1 this year.

News of the accreditation overhaul will undoubtedly cause great resistance from some of the over 100 agents currently accredited to manage the careers and lives of players.

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