The NRL’s season launch has been cancelled as the pay dispute with the players rumbles on.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the event, scheduled for Thursday night, has been canned.
It’s the second straight year the season launch has been cancelled, after the 2022 event was called off in the wake of floods that struck the Penrith region, where the launch was to have been held.
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“Due to the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations, the NRL will not hold a season launch function this Thursday as originally planned,” the NRL said in a statement to the Herald.
“The NRL remains focused on making positive progress regarding the joint NRL and NRLW agreements.”
Players had previously threatened to boycott the launch, with the cancellation saving the potential embarrassment of the game’s stars not turning up.
In 2003, the Dally M Awards were boycotted by the players and no player of the year was crowned.
Negotiations between the NRL and RLPA are ongoing, with hopes of an agreement being finalised before the first match of the season on March 2, when the Eels play the Storm at CommBank Stadium.
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