Eels confident in NRL salary cap probe

Parramatta are confident they are in the process of sufficiently overhauling their front office, following governance failures, in order to avoid sanction from the NRL over salary cap breaches.

The Eels are facing the loss of four competition points ahead of the new NRL season, due to cap breaches relating to 2015.

However in his first comments on the saga since taking over as new Parramatta chief executive on January 17, John Boulos believes the club is doing enough to convince the game’s governing body not to take that dramatic step.

“I am confident we will do everything in our power to ensure it doesn’t happen,” Boulos told AAP on Monday at the launch of the club’s Indigenous jersey for 2016.

“We are working in good faith with the NRL, we are working very closely with them, to implement the recommendations of the governance review.

“I have no doubt as a club we are entirely committed to that.”

The embattled club will learn their fate on February 29, just three days before they host the season opener against Brisbane.

“It is still being worked through at the moment,” Boulos said.

“But we are not doing this just for the report and just to tick a box.

“We are doing it because it is something that is meaningful, it is something that is important, it is something that we want to embrace and it is something that is going to make our club better.”

The new season has brought with it much expectation and positivity at the Eels after the key acquisitions of Kieran Foran, Michael Jennings and Beau Scott was followed up by title success at the NRL Auckland Nines.

Boulos said he had been conscious not to let the off field drama affect the season preparation of coach Brad Arthur and his team.

“From a football pointy of view we try and shield them from it as much as we can,” Boulos said.

“We saw good progress in the Nines, it was a pre-season competition but it was a good start to the year and it gives us some energy to build on.

“We are not silly enough to think that it correlates to success during the season proper because it is a totally different game and competition but the fact is it gives us momentum to start the season with.”

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