Isaac Moses fight to drag in NRL’s biggest names

Some of the game’s most powerful figures could be forced to take the witness stand to defend Isaac Moses.

Former Parramatta prop Tim Mannah is in the middle of a fight between his former agent Isaac Moses and the NRL. Picture: Brett Costello

Some of the game’s most powerful figures could be forced to take the witness stand as leading players back plans by their agent Isaac Moses to take his fight with the NRL all the way to the courts.

Moses has had his accreditation cancelled pending an appeal over allegations he procured and assisted former client Tim Mannah to give evidence to the NRL that was false and intended to mislead an investigation by the league’s integrity unit.

The news prompted suggestions Moses’ client base could be ravaged by his fellow agents — he counts among his clientele the likes of Cameron Smith, Josh Hodgson, Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai.

Those hopes were immediately dashed when the Rugby League Players Association sent an email confirming Moses retained the right to challenge the decision and the cancellation would not take effect until the process had played out.

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Until that time, players with his company do not have the right to terminate their deals. Regardless, a handful of Moses’ biggest names told The Australian on Wednesday that they had no intention of ending their association with him.

“I spoke with Issac earlier today and he is obviously disappointed with the decision by the NRL but he is not too beat up by it all because he is extremely confident that he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Melbourne captain Cameron Smith said.

“From what he has told me, I am actually looking forward to Isaac getting an opportunity to have his say.’’

Under NRL rules, Moses has the right to apply to appeal the determination to the independent appeals committee. If leave to appeal is granted, his accreditation will continue to be recognised pending the appeals committee’s decision.

It is understood the Moses camp will have the opportunity to cross-examine Mannah as part of the process. Moses and Mannah were once joined at the hip, but fell out dramatically when the agent split with long-time business partner Joe Wehbe, the so-called coach whisperer.

The current allegations relate to the Parramatta salary cap scandal of a few years ago, when Mannah was called on to give evidence. At the time, there were reports that Mannah was at the centre of talks between the club and Parramatta Council over a third-party deal.

The deal eventually fell over and Moses denied any wrongdoing, a claim that was backed by Mannah. It is understood Mannah has since changed his story, prompting the NRL to act against Moses despite the time that has passed.

As part of the changes to the agent accreditation scheme in recent years, all player managers were given immunity relating to previous investigations on the proviso that they switched over to the new scheme.

However, the NRL is of the opinion that the current investigation doesn’t fall under that umbrella because it relates to allegations that Moses assisted Mannah to provide false evidence, rather than any allegations tied to the cap itself.

Those allegations were previously investigated by the NRL and Moses was found to have no case to answer. Mannah now works for Parramatta and it could become an unwanted distraction for coach Brad Arthur given Moses still has several prominent players within Parramatta’s ranks including halfback Mitchell Moses, who is Isaac Moses’ nephew.

If Moses’ right to appeal is rejected by the independent committee, the likelihood is that he will take the matter to court, given what is at stake.

It could mean the likes of ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys, acting NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and NRL chief operating officer Nick Weeks are called on to give evidence.