Ben Hannant throws his weight behind call for greater Origin pay

BEN Hannant pocketed just $14,000 from last year's Origin series and pressure is mounting on the ARL Commission to do something about it.

MAROONS prop Ben Hannant pocketed just $14,000 from last year's Origin series and pressure is mounting on the Australian Rugby League Commission to do something about it by increasing match payments to representative stars.

The loyalty fund is another bone of contention among senior representative stars, with one high-profile player yesterday labelled the compulsory retirement fund as a "joke".

This year's Origin combatants will share about 6 per cent of an estimated $30 million that is generated by the code's showpiece event.

NSW and Queensland players are paid $20,000 for an Origin fixture, but could demand up to $50,000 per game from 2013 as the ARLC moves closer to brokering a television rights deal that is expected to deliver the code at least $900 million.

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A Wallaby playing all of Australia's 15 Tests in a year would receive upwards of $150,000, going on the rate of about $10,000 per Test.

"As players we don't want to be greedy, we don't want to be talking strikes or do anything to upset fans, we just want a deal which is fair and reasonable," said Hannant, who has been at the forefront of negotiations on the code's 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

"In the NRL, as a playing group we receive about 25 per cent of revenue and at Origin level it's about 6 per cent. We're not making excessive demands, we just want a fair percentage of revenue that the game makes from State of Origin."

Should interstate payments rise to $50,000 per game next season, the playing group would pocket $5.1 million collectively, which equates to 17 per cent of Origin's $30 million revenue.

In regard to the loyalty fund, there is talk the game's best players are poised to lobby the Rugby League Players Association to scrap it.

From the $20,000 issued to Origin players per game, $10,000 sits in a loyalty fund that cannot be accessed until they retire. If a player switches codes, or joins the English Super League, the money is forfeited.

"It's a joke," the high-profile player said. "We need the money now. We have mortgages and financial commitments.

"If a player spills blood for 10 years at Origin level and then chooses to switch codes, should he really be denied that money? No."

Player agents and representatives from the players' association are due to meet soon to discuss the situation.

"(The players) would rather have the money now and do something positive with it," player agent Wayne Beavis said. "The whole system needs to be urgently reviewed."

Another NRL player agent said his clients hated the loyalty fund.

"They need the money now, not a nest egg in 10 years' time," he said.

NRL chief executive David Gallop said of the loyalty fund: "It was to reward players who stayed loyal to the code.

"It also provides a tax-effective payment at the end of their careers."

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