NRL CEO, Mr Dave Smith, said today the Cronulla Sharks and Shane Flanagan had accepted the penalties imposed on them by the NRL.
As a result, the Cronulla Sharks Football Club has been fined $1 million, of which $400,000 is suspended subject to the club satisfying governance changes and compliance with the NRL rules.
Mr Flanagan’s registration has been suspended for 12 months or until he satisfies conditions imposed by the NRL. He may return in nine months if those conditions are satisfied by then.
Mr Smith said he welcomed the responses from the Sharks and Mr Flanagan.
“It has always been our aim to deal with these matters in a transparent and fair way,” he said.
“We’ve done that and now it is time to move on.
“We’ve done that and now it is time to move on.
“It is now up to the Club and Mr Flanagan to take the appropriate steps to satisfy the conditions we have put in place to ensure there is no repeat of this breach.
“It also means the Sharks club can focus its attention on continuing to run a successful club on and off the field.
“We recognise the constructive way the Sharks Board, headed by Damian Keogh, has approached this matter.”
Mr Smith said former Head of Strength and Conditioning, Trent Elkin, had sought and been granted an extension of time until Monday to determine if he will seek to appeal the decision to cancel his registration for a minimum of two years.
