Broncos chief blasts salary cap speculation

Brisbane have hit out at suggestions that their signing of Greg Inglis will push them over the salary cap for next season.

Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen was forced in to issuing an unprecedented statement in which he hit out at the media speculation in Australia following their signing of the Melbourne and Kangaroos star.

Cullen said: “Not only are the figures attributed to the Inglis contract generally well off the mark, no one seems to have looked at player movement away from our club for next year, or even what recent changes to the salary cap rule next year mean for the Broncos.”

He pointed out that five of the club’s existing 25-man squad – Israel Folau, Steve Michaels, Lagi Setu, Ashton Sims and Antonio Winterstein – are leaving at the end of the season which will free up around $1.1m of cap space.

The Broncos also made cuts last season when Karmichael Hunt, Joel Clinton and PJ Marsh left the club, and so far only Inglis and Ben Hannant have been brought in.

Cullen added: “I don’t know what Greg was on the Storm’s cap for; I don’t know what arrangement the Storm and Greg have with regard to his release; I don’t know what the Storm have to carry for Greg in the cap over the next two years; and I don’t know what transpired between Ian Schubert and the Storm in this regard; because it is none of my business and, for that matter, no one else’s either.

“What I do know is what we offered Greg is well within the cap and he has accepted it.

“Broncos’ sponsors, fans and corporate supporters should be extremely confident that the club has followed the rules to the letter of the law.”