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NRL match-fix scam probe gets deeper

Last match of the season, the team already knows they will get the wooden spoon - what exactly is there to play for? Apparently a free night at a brothel...

Victorian gambling board probes suspicious bets on Roosters game

The Herald revealed last month there was bitter division within the Roosters team because of fears a small group of players had manipulated the result of the match against the Cowboys on September 6 to extend their loss beyond 13 points.

The Roosters went from being 16-6 ahead at half-time to losing the game by 32-16, leaving the bookmakers and betting agencies with a payout of between $4 and $5.50 to the large number of punters who had backed the Roosters to lose by 13 points plus.

...

It has been alleged that some of those Roosters players then ''celebrated'' winning the wooden spoon by visiting a brothel where they were provided with free services.

The Herald revealed that one Roosters player openly accused a teammate of getting some kind of kickback. ''I'm aware that several of the players have been up there [to the brothel] on a weekly basis throughout the year.

''On occasions they are receiving free services. I don't know why or how that works. Why you would want to involve yourself in those types of circles when you are a professional sportsman, I do not know.''


The NRL has been sweeping events like this under the table for years. Never a fixed match to my knowledge, just exotic markets like First Tryscorer (several times) and the winning margin like this one. The NRL likes to think it is whiter than white, actually it is acting like USA Track and Field in the 80s and 90s, just burying it all under the carpet and hoping it will go away.

NSW authorities chose to ignore it, or just look no deeper than from their comfy office chairs. Time to get serious and investigate properly to clean up the sport in desperate need of an image change.

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