The New Zealand Rugby League are counting the cost of the latest collective bargaining agreement which has proved a windfall for players but a headache for the national body, especially as they weren't even consulted about the new agreement.
The new collective, which came into effect on May 1, has seen player payments for one-off tests between the Kiwis and Kangaroos jump from A$9000 to $20,000. Furthermore, the amount players stand to earn from the World Cup and Four Nations has doubled from $25,000 to $50,000 for being part of the winning team down to $30,000 for third (up from $15,000).
It has been done to try to highlight the importance of international rugby league but it has also come at a cost to the NZRL who have to pay the New Zealand players. Their bill for the Anzac test, for instance, has more than doubled from A$153,000 to $340,000.
What has made it more difficult to stomach for the NZRL is the fact they weren't consulted by the NRL and the Rugby League Players' Association who stitched the new five-year collective agreement together.
"New Zealand Rugby League actually wasn't involved in the negotiation of it so it's fair to say there's a degree of frustration on this side of the Tasman and a degree of embarrassment on the other side,'' NZRL chief executive Phil Holden told Radio Sport.