NRL: Fresh allegations bring more damage to NRL

Parramatta could face more salary cap sanctions after fresh allegations of undisclosed third-party payments made to Eels players. Credit:NZPA / Wayne Drought

Parramatta could face more salary cap sanctions after fresh allegations of undisclosed third-party payments made to Eels players.

The NRL announced on Friday it will launch an investigation into claims made by Fairfax Media that a number of Eels had received money from third-party agreements not registered with the governing body.

"We have already shown that we are prepared to take a hard line against breaches and these allegations will be investigated by the salary cap auditors," NRL Head of Integrity Nick Weeks said in a statement.

Fairfax reports Eddie Obeid Jnr - the son of disgraced Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid - admitted to assisting financially troubled star Chris Sandow, offering real estate advice to Will Hopoate and providing a discounted apartment to prop Darcy Lussick.

Obeid Jnr is alleged to have topped up Sandow's contract by as much as $200,000, and Hopoate's deal by about $100,000.

There's no suggestion any of the Eels players knowingly breached the salary cap.

Eels chairman Steve Sharp said the club was trying to clean up poor practices of former administrations and was attempting to move on from what had been a "dark period in our history".

"The Parramatta Leagues Club Group has co-operated fully with the relevant government authorities about the actions of previous board members," Sharp said.

"The club recently engaged auditors, as requested by the NRL, to ensure we have the highest standards of salary cap compliance from this season forward.

"As chairman, I have previously raised with the NRL the issue of outside of salary cap payment and its regulation across the game."

Lussick denied there was anything sinister in his ownership of an apartment in Top Ryde sold to him by a Obeid Jnr's family company, describing the story as "old news". "They're just bringing up old things," Lussick told AAP.

"They tried to bring it out as some big exclusive last year, and nothing happened from it." Earlier this month, the club was hit with a reduced $465,000 fine for overspending in four of the game's salary cap categories last season.

The Eels also face the loss of four competition points in 2016 unless it undertakes an independent governance review.

The NRL said Parramatta would be hit with more penalties should they be found guilty of more breaches. "If these allegations are confirmed, then the NRL will take appropriate action to ensure the integrity of the competition," Weeks said.

Captain Tim Mannah brushed off the latest revelations. "If you zoom out and have a look at it for what it is, a lot of it's happened from things that have happened years ago," he said. "It's a shame that they're coming back to bite us now, because where we are now for the past year or two, we've actually moved forward as a club. We're heading in the right direction."