Probe into player real estate deals
By Jake Niall
The Age
March 18, 2005
The AFL plans to keep the heat on clubs and players over potential salary cap breaches.
The AFL is poised to launch a major investigation into property investments and transactions involving players to ensure that these deals don't breach the salary cap.
The league, aware of burgeoning investments AFL players have made in property - including a number that involve club officials or third parties connected to clubs - will seek details of investments and transactions to ensure that such deals aren't sophisticated methods for avoiding the salary cap.
The AFL is also keen to verify that legitimacy of other business deals between players and club officials, checking that these investments are bona fide commercial deals, not another salary cap avoidance scheme.
The AFL's general manager of football operations, Adrian Anderson, confirmed that the league's investigations officer, Ken Wood, would be placing a greater emphasis on players who own property.
"He will be looking at property investments with players and their associates," Anderson said. "That will be an area of focus for Ken Wood in the investigation department . . . it's an area of specific focus."
The AFL has investigated property deals in the past, but none of the major salary cap scandals or convictions - which caused severe penalties for Carlton, Essendon and Melbourne - involved real estate or land transactions. In each case, the clubs used undisclosed cash payments to avoid the total player payments.
Aware of the dangers of property deals, St Kilda and Essendon are among the clubs that have taken formal steps to ensure that no player becomes involved in investment schemes that could breach the salary cap, without the club's knowledge.
Essendon is believed to have set up a meeting between Wood and the president of the Essendonians coterie group, property developer Mark Casey, to ensure that any deals instigated by Casey with a player were within the accepted guidelines for the salary cap.
Casey, the brother of Richmond's president Clinton Casey, is involved in major residential developments and golf courses with his better known brother, including one at Torquay.
Some time ago, St Kilda is believed to have reported to the AFL an investment by Fraser Gehrig in a company owned by club director John Gdanski, with the investigations department giving the deal the all clear.
The Saints have made it club policy that no player is to enter into deals with a club director, sponsor or executive of the club without the permission of the chief executive.
While Richmond forward Nathan Brown was widely believed to have invested in property owned by Tiger president Clinton Casey, club sources said yesterday that, as yet, unlike some teammates, the former Bulldog has not actually bought any property from a Casey company.A number of past and present West Coast and Fremantle players have also invested in property, aided by Perth property magnate Nigel Satterley. Brownlow medallist Chris Judd and Matthew Pavlich are among investors in Satterley properties.
In the past years, when cheating the cap was more widespread, it was not uncommon for players to be promised a profit in their property investment, regardless of how the property fared.
One football insider noted that the investments offered by the likes of Satterley and the Caseys had risks and that the players were not given special protection.
"There's a high gain but there's a high risk," he said.
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