Manly legend and premiership winner Noel Cleal has unleashed on the RLPA for being “greedy” as the association and NRL powerbrokers remain locked in heated CBA negotiations.
Cleal’s career in the NRL spanned 35 years, and the powerhouse forward played 198 games for both Manly and Eastern Suburbs — winning a title under the Immortal Bob Fulton in 1987.
The 65-year-old, nicknamed ‘Crusher’ has also represented NSW and Australia and believes the current playing group should “go to buggery”.
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“I think they’re f. ing greedy,” Cleal said to The Daily Telegraph.
“We have a duty to leave a legacy in the game and greed shouldn’t be part of that legacy.
“If I was Peter V’landys, I’d be telling them to go to buggery. They can’t keep going back to the well, we want more, more, more.
“Today, if another club comes along with a bigger offer, a player will break a contract. They just say: ‘I want out’. It’s all about greed, it’s not about the game.
“I came through when a handshake was your word, it was your honour.
“The players today have never had it better in terms of facilities, sports science, support, rehabilitation. They want for nothing, all the clothing, it’s all given to them. Maybe the players want to run the entire NRL, they want to control everything.
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“Players used to play five years to buy a house. Today, they buy two houses a year.
“We should never forget those people that played the game in the ‘50s and ‘60s, those that dug the well that these guys are drinking from.
“Blokes like John Raper and Reg Gasnier – they’d be rolling in their grave. In the main, the players these days are only worried about themselves.”
Meanwhile, a host of clubs have stood down from media commitments to promote the game in a stand against the NRL — and veteran backrower Kurt Capewell didn’t rule out strike action.
Cleal believes the current playing group’s actions could be the death of bush footy, questioning where funds in the new CBA will be allocated.
“The golden thread that runs through NSW and Queensland country is rugby league and it’s dying on the vine. It’s really, really struggling,” Cleal said.
“If the modern-day players keep on wanting more and more money, do they take it from the development of bush footy?
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“How do we develop the next generation of players if there aren’t any resources to tip in because the current players are taking it all. That’s a real worry.”
Cleal retired from his role as a recruitment manager at the Sea Eagles on Tuesday after 25 years in the role.
The former representative player was integral in the Sea Eagles identifying some of their best ever player — including Daly Cherry-Evans, Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai.
“I know how proud and honoured Noel is to have been able to spend 20 of those seasons at Manly, having made the finals campaign on 17 occasions as a player and manager,’’ Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov said in a club statement.
“The ones that standout for him are the 1987 premiership as a player, captaining the Sea Eagles in 1986, and working closely with Des Hasler to win the 2008 and 2011 NRL premierships.
“Having spent endless hours watching NRL, lower grades, junior reps, schoolboy carnivals and bush footy, Noel is also going to spend time with his grandchildren, Cooper, Nash, and Sonny watching their sporting achievements.
“The Sea Eagles sincerely thank Noel for all he has done for our club and congratulate him on a wonderful career. We wish him good luck in the future.”
