Leading player agent severs ties with R360 to avoid 10-year ban

2 weeks ago 3

Leading player manager Clinton Schifcofske says he will not broker deals with rebel competition Rugby 360 to avoid the prospect of a 10-year NRL ban.

Schifcofske manages Ryan Papenhuyzen and Zac Lomax, who are free agents after being released from Melbourne and Parramatta respectively. The pair have been heavily linked to R360, particularly given that Schifcofske has previously stated that he has explored opportunities in the competition for his clients.

The NRL has threatened agents and players who negotiate with R360 with 10-year bans, a move that has prompted Schifcofske to cease any further communications with competition organisers.

“I’m stepping away,” Schifcofske said on Wednesday.

“The rules have changed so I have to play by the rules. I’m still doing all their NRL stuff if they choose to play in the NRL and I will do all their rugby for every other sanctioned competition around the world.

“[For R360] they can get another agent or my advice was to get a lawyer.”

The immediate futures of Papenhuyzen and Lomax remain unclear given R360 - should they join - isn’t slated to kick-off until October 2026. Asked if he is seeking other rugby options immediately for the pair, Schifcofske said: “That’s private and confidential … that’s no one else’s business …

“They are elite players, of course there are options for them.”

Schifcofske said he had acted ethically in seeking releases for Lomax and Papenhuyzen.

“Absolutely, if they didn’t want to release them, they wouldn’t have released them,” he said.

“It’s interesting that we have these conversations when a player asks for a release, but we never have these conversations in the media or the NRL when every other week players are tapped mid-contract to move on.

“That’s a bit disappointing, but that’s the system we’re in, I guess.”