NRL 2022: League central appoint their new King of integrity

After seven long years, Karyn Murphy stepped down as the NRL head of integrity in May. Now the league has appointed a replacement, reports Phil Rothfield.

Jason King.

A former front-row forward is to take over as the NRL’s new boss of the integrity unit.

Jason King, the 239-game Manly Sea Eagles warhorse, will become the game’s top cop in a broad role that includes salary cap compliance, player behaviour, agents and legal matters.

He replaces Joe Collins and Karyn Murphy, who have both recently stepped aside.

King started at NRL in 2014 in commercial but was most recently general manager of elite competitions before being promoted into the new role.

While playing for Manly he gained a double degree in legal and business administration at Macquarie University.

King said he was looking forward to starting.

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Jason King will take over the NRL’s integrity unit. Picture: Gregg Porteous

“It’s an exciting opportunity to work closely with Andrew (Abdo), the commission and the clubs to protect the integrity of the game we all love,” he said.

“There will always be a need to enforce our rules and hold people to account, but it’s equally important we focus on education, good processes and other support mechanisms with a view to preventing issues from arising in the first place.

“The community and our partners have high expectations of the game and both the players and officials involved – it’s incumbent on all of us to live up to these standards so the game can continue to thrive and provide positive experiences for our fans.”

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo informed the 16 clubs of his decision on Saturday evening.

“Jason is uniquely placed to lead the Integrity team,” he said, “He played professionally for 14 seasons, qualified as a lawyer and has had seven years of experience in sports administration across NRL football and commercial teams.

“Jason knows the game inside out and has relationships with many stakeholders through his recent roles.

“Joe Collins and Karyn Murphy have done an outstanding job for the game in integrity. They are both professionals and leave behind a strong team to take us forward.”