Rugby League: Warriors fined $17,700 over salary breach

The New Zealand Warriors have been fined $A15,000 ($NZ17,700) by the National Rugby League (NRL) for a salary breach.

The club is one of six to be fined after breaches were discovered in audits of their 2003 books.

The NRL would not give details of the Warriors' breach tonight, but it relates to non-declaration of a payment or payments and not for exceeding the $A3.25 million salary cap.

All clubs are required to declare all benefits and monies that players receive in pre and post season statutory declarations, NRL chief executive David Gallop said in a statement tonight.

"Although they remained under the $A3.25 million salary cap the Broncos, Knights, Warriors and Panthers all failed to meet this requirement through non-declaration of certain payments," he said.

"Some of these breaches are purely technical oversights but overall everyone accepts that the salary cap is serving its purpose."

The Melbourne Storm were the only club to be fined for exceeding the cap, due largely to their long standing and previously declared third party arrangements. Their fine was $A130,956.

The Newcastle Knights were fined $A30,000, Penrith Panthers $A25,000 plus $A25,000 for a 2002 breach, Brisbane Broncos $A20,000 and South Sydney Rabbitohs $A5252.

Gallop said the successful enforcement of the salary cap was working to everyone's benefit.

"For a couple of years now we have had clubs that are financially stable and our crowds and TV ratings prove that fans are enjoying an even and hotly contested competition.

"It is because of this that we need to continue to be diligent and the good news is that most of the breaches we now see relate to old arrangements that were already phased out."

- NZPA