The Brisbane Broncos are embroiled in a salary cap investigation that has seen an Australian bookmaker suspend betting on who will win the NRL's wooden spoon.
Australian newspapers yesterday reported the club and the NRL were investigating accusations that Queensland businessman Ken Talbot had made illicit cash paymentsto Broncos players.
But Brisbane's Courier Mail reported that Talbot had told Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen he had made no such payments.
"I have spoken to Ken this evening and he strenuously denied paying any players under the table," Cullen told the newspaper. "The thing is just a rumour in Sydney."
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Cullen had signed a statutory declaration that the club had not knowingly exceeded the salary cap last season, and he was adamant that rumours were unfounded.
"I'm very confident of what I signed off on, so if it is true I'll lose my job or go to jail, one of the two.
"That's how serious it is with us," Cullen is quoted as saying.
The NRL has confirmed it is looking into the matter.
The decision to suspend betting on the wooden spoon follows at least one punter's decision to back the defending champions to finish last, the Courier Mail reported.
