7th Tackle: Angry Greenberg hits back at RLPA

Todd Greenberg has been heavily criticised for not engaging with the players during their increasingly hostile CBA negotiations.

But that doesn't mean Greenberg isn't taking a very close interest in the saga.

Incensed after Cameron Smith hijacked the build-up to Origin III with a spiel about the NRL's figures not adding up, Greenberg jumped on the phone to RLPA boss Ian Prendergast to express his frustrations.

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Greenberg was most angry about the fact the figures Smith used were not accurate. The RLPA pointed out they had been given no official numbers to work off. That changed at Tuesday's fiery meeting, when the NRL gave the RLPA a better idea of the game's projected revenue streams between now and 2022.

The players' demand for a 29 percent share of revenue has been repeated numerous times, but not justified nearly enough.

The opposing model is a fixed revenue with profit share. But the players don't want this because they feel the NRL will not make a profit thanks to a history of big spending that's only been corrected over the past 12 months or so.

In short, the players don't want their slice of the pie affected by the NRL's spending habits. That's why they want a definitive cut of the revenue streams – most of which comes from fixed broadcast deals – before the spending on other areas begins.