Payne Haas was handed the harshest fine by the NRL, yet league boss Andrew Abdo is looking at increasing fines to ensure the same behaviors do not repeat.
Haas was fined $50,000 after an altercation with police last month which will see him on the sidelines for the first three rounds of the 2021 season.
However, this is not the first time the prop has been handed a fine; in 2019 he received a $20,000 fine after failing to comply in the investigation with the governing body.
This sidelined Haas four games and adding up his total in fines to $70,000 in the past two years.
The NRL have also made Haas undergo an education program surrounding respectful behaviour towards police and authority figures as well as a CCO to complete.
Abdo is aiming to harshen future fines however, to ensure Haas and other repeat offenders no longer find themselves in similar grief with the NRL again.
A review has been approved by the NRL who are also in conversation with the Rugby League Players’ Association to investigate the financial figures for sanctions given due to misbehavior.
“I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t like to incur a fine,” Abdo told Fox League.
“I know I scream blue murder when I get a parking fine that becomes $100, so I think the financial pain that this will inflict on a player is a huge deterrent.
“Yes, we are going to look at the penalty, but we are also going to look at ways in which we can better connect with our players.
“It has been a number of years since we reviewed our penalty regime and what the cap is for the players.
“Since then, a lot of things have changed. The salary cap is higher and financial economy has changed, but equally there is a small group of players that are continuing to transgress not to the standards we expect at the NRL or the standards that the community expects.”
Abdo and the NRL are hoping to give individuals who have come into the NRL from troubled backgrounds the chance of a fresh start.
“The ability of rugby league to make a difference in the players’ lives, some of which have come from challenging circumstances,” he said.
“Every incident is different, and every player has their own story, but I genuinely believe that we need to do more to help players make better decisions.
“It is up to us to be able to create a better human and role model, but the player has to want to change.
“If they choose to do that, then the game will always be there to help them.
“As a young 21-year-old, he has a potentially an incredibly bright future ahead of him but he needs to make certain decisions from here on in.
“We can give him all the tools and resources, but he needs to make certain decisions himself.”
Haas has a 95.1% tackle efficiency of the 749 tackles he has made, and has made five tries and 41 appearances in his overall career.