NEWS The Fifita saga according to Paul Kent

[broncos4life]

Oh no I have no Broncos blind bias and can read things objectively.. couldn't possibly be serious

Well Kent suggested that we have illegally paid for Fifita’s peace agreement and lied about that to the salary cap auditor and integrity unit? Do you believe that is correct, fair and balanced? He also claimed that NAS attacking someone after the situation had de-esculated itself was cause for a pat on the back rather than punishment, do you believe that is fair and unbiased?

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Well Kent suggested that we have illegally paid for Fifita’s peace agreement and lied about that to the salary cap auditor and integrity unit? Do you believe that is correct, fair and balanced? He also claimed that NAS attacking someone after the situation had de-esculated itself was cause for a pat on the back rather than punishment, do you believe that is fair and unbiased?

Don't know if it's correct or not.. but there's one thing he's dead right about, is the NRL need to become completely transparent.

Then there's no doubt and no conspiracies

 

[Kooly87]

Don't know if it's correct or not.. but there's one thing he's dead right about, is the NRL need to become completely transparent.

Then there's no doubt and no conspiracies

Given the nature of what they investigate and other external parties that are not NRL employees that may be involved, it's not always possible to be transparent or completely public in their findings.

Don't buy the transparency argument too strongly because ultimately, it's self serving in Kent's case. It gives him far more juicy details and information to put in the papers of his employer if everything is made public.

 

[broncos4life]

Don't know if it's correct or not.. but there's one thing he's dead right about, is the NRL need to become completely transparent.

Then there's no doubt and no conspiracies

So well valid point in a whole article that attacks your club with untruths and insinuationsof cheating make it a great article? Cool.

 

[Nashy]

So well valid point in a whole article that attacks your club with untruths and insinuationsof cheating make it a great article? Cool.

You don't know if they are untruths. Hell, I think anyone who doesn't think the Broncos did everything in their power to get him back home, are a little naive.

 

[lynx000]

Don't know if it's correct or not.. but there's one thing he's dead right about, is the NRL need to become completely transparent.

Then there's no doubt and no conspiracies

It is a nice ideal, call me cynical, I doubt it is possible.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

It is a nice ideal, call me cynical, I doubt it is possible.

He makes the point that the NFL can do it.. why can't we?

And all the conspiracies we have of roosters rorting and Melbourne rorting and other clubs calling us rorters.. it's just juvenile.

Make everything public. Player salaries and 3rd party deals.

Least us punters would have a fairer idea of where everyone is at legitimately

 

[broncos4life]

You don't know if they are untruths. Hell, I think anyone who doesn't think the Broncos did everything in their power to get him back home, are a little naive.

Well I hope they are untruths because the Broncos have publicly stated they did not pay his peace agreement, meaning if we have then we are salary cap cheats, which is what Kent is insinuating.

 

[broncsgoat]

Even if everything was made public we would be accused of lying, it wouldn’t really achieve anything to quell that narrative.

 

[lynx000]

Even if everything was made public we would be accused of lying, it wouldn’t really achieve anything to quell that narrative.

Agree with this,if anything it would be likely to cause more chat and rumour mongering.

 

[Nashy]

Well I hope they are untruths because the Broncos have publicly stated they did not pay his peace agreement, meaning if we have then we are salary cap cheats, which is what Kent is insinuating.

I hope so too. But was that a Broncos minder or a Broncos bag man?

 

[Kooly87]

You don't know if they are untruths. Hell, I think anyone who doesn't think the Broncos did everything in their power to get him back home, are a little naive.

Of course they did. The Federal Government does exactly the same thing when it suits them. That's the way things work in some foreign countries. I honestly think it's very unlikely that they personally paid his legal bill though. Firstly, Fifita should comfortably have access to that kind of cash himself. Secondly, knowing the media is all over it and knowing how leaky the whole thing has the potential to be both in Bali and back here, the risk is just far too great that something will get out and suddenly a small Bali incident becomes a full blow salary cap investigation. We're a publicly traded company to add to the mix, so pulling off stuff like this with mystery 30k payments is especially difficult without getting caught.

Seriously, it's 30k, and it's not like Fifita doesn't have the money. I don't doubt we helped expedite the process behind closed doors and ensured it all ran smoothly and kept Fifita on a very tight leash, he is a teenager in trouble overseas and I don't think that's too unreasonable. I honestly do doubt though that we funded the whole thing directly. It's just stupidly risky with massive consequences if we got caught.

 

[Nashy]

Of course they did. The Federal Government does exactly the same thing when it suits them. That's the way things work in some foreign countries. I honestly think it's very unlikely that they personally paid his legal bill though. Firstly, Fifita should comfortably have access to that kind of cash himself. Secondly, knowing the media is all over it and knowing how leaky the whole thing has the potential to be both in Bali and back here, the risk is just far too great that something will get out and suddenly a small Bali incident becomes a full blow salary cap investigation. We're a publicly traded company to add to the mix, so pulling off stuff like this with mystery 30k payments is especially difficult without getting caught.

Seriously, it's 30k, and it's not like Fifita doesn't have the money. I don't doubt we helped expedite the process behind closed doors and ensured it all ran smoothly and kept Fifita on a very tight leash, he is a teenager in trouble overseas and I don't think that's too unreasonable. I honestly do doubt though that we funded the whole thing directly. It's just stupidly risky with massive consequences if we got caught.

Or, they didn't give a shit because they have an excellent PR and legal team behind them, and did pay it.

They probably didn't, but writing it off as not happening is a bit crazy in the game we find ourselves in.

I bet plenty of professions stick a minder on a plane to go sort out their employee in another country too... I doubt it.

 

[Kooly87]

Or, they didn't give a shit because they have an excellent PR and legal team behind them, and did pay it.

They probably didn't, but writing it off as not happening is a bit crazy in the game we find ourselves in.

I bet plenty of professions stick a minder on a plane to go sort out their employee in another country too... I doubt it.

Of course they do. It's part of doing business in foreign countries with volatile political and legal systems. Banks and Insurance Firms absolutely do it depending on what markets they operate in.

I'm not writing it off as impossible that we might have contributed. But I do seriously doubt it. It's not really enough money to bother with given the risk involved if you're busted and like I said, it's hardly like Fifita couldn't fund it himself.

I'd say it's far more likely that he paid the bill himself and the Broncos find a way to look after him indirectly or indirectly either financially or otherwise at later point when all the dust has settled.

We may well have a great legal team, but it's definitely not better than the ATO, ASIC or the AFP's legal team, and when you go around making undeclared mystery 30k payments and then you lie about them as a publicly listed company, they can hit you with a pretty significant stick.

 

[McHunt]

Or, they didn't give a shit because they have an excellent PR and legal team behind them, and did pay it.

They probably didn't, but writing it off as not happening is a bit crazy in the game we find ourselves in.

I bet plenty of professions stick a minder on a plane to go sort out their employee in another country too... I doubt it.

Friend of mine - engineer with a major oil multinational - crashed his company car in Mexico: fell asleep at the wheel, killed his local offsider. The oil company sent in their clean up team, got him out on the first flight, dealt with the blowback. He should've been charged with manslaughter, but that was the end of it. He was working in Egypt a week later.

I know more than one person who's been in a similar situation in PNG.

 

[Kooly87]

Friend of mine - engineer with a major oil multinational - crashed his company car in Mexico: fell asleep at the wheel, killed his local offsider. The oil company sent in their clean up team, got him out on the first flight, dealt with the blowback. He should've been charged with manslaughter, but that was the end of it. He was working in Egypt a week later.

Happens all the time. You only have to look a little further North in PNG. Every single Australian company involved in mining etc up there has their own team of people to swiftly and efficiently and ideally quietly deal with any legal issues or incidents for their staff and when needed, get them back on a flight home as urgently as necessary.

 

[McHunt]

Happens all the time. You only have to look a little further North in PNG. Every single Australian company involved in mining etc up there has their own team of people to swiftly and efficiently and ideally quietly deal with any legal issues or incidents for their staff and when needed, get them back on a flight home as urgently as necessary.

Exactly. I just added that to my post as you were writing this. It's one of the most common PNG stories. And, of course, it doesn't come out of their salary. It's like an insurance cost of doing business.

Removed: Needless Bait

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Friend of mine - engineer with a major oil multinational - crashed his company car in Mexico: fell asleep at the wheel, killed his local offsider. The oil company sent in their clean up team, got him out on the first flight, dealt with the blowback. He should've been charged with manslaughter, but that was the end of it. He was working in Egypt a week later.

I know more than one person who's been in a similar situation in PNG.

Well that's fucked up and hope they can't sleep at night