NRL BUSY BEFORE CHRISTMAS: AGENTS BANNED, CLUBS FINED, TONGA GRANTED EXTENSION
The NRL has delivered a flurry of end-of-year sanctions and decisions ahead of Christmas, with four top player agents banned, Melbourne and Sydney Roosters facing fines, and Tonga’s medical staff given more time to challenge their suspensions.
Thursday saw Chris Orr, Mario Tartak, Nash Dawson and Matt Desira hit with suspensions over integrity matters, plus a combined $60,000 in fines – leaving several high-profile stars without their usual representation for the start of 2026. Tartak, one of the game’s most powerful agents with clients including Haumole Olakau’atu and the Fainu brothers, copped the harshest penalty: 12 months banned and $25,000 fined for allegedly communicating with an under-age player without a guardian and entering unauthorised commercial deals with two clubs.
Orr and Dawson were suspended for six months each, fined $10,000 and $15,000 respectively, over an altercation at a schoolboys competition last year. Orr’s stable includes Dylan Brown, Selwyn Cobbo and Valentine Holmes, while Dawson represents Ezra Mam, Reece Walsh and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. Desira also received a six-month ban and fine for non-reporting and dishonesty linked to police charges; his clients include Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall, Viliame Kikau and Jayden Campbell. Despite the bans, player impact is expected to be minimal with colleagues able to take over their cases.
In club news, the Roosters face a $36,070 fine for allegedly breaching the 2024 supplementary and training cap by that exact amount. Melbourne, meanwhile, is accused of selecting a training-contract player twice in 2025 and faces a $25,000 fine – half suspended. Storm forward Shawn Blore also received a breach notice after pleading guilty to common assault in Sydney last July.
On a more lenient note, the NRL has granted Tonga’s medical staff extra time to decide whether to fight their two-year bans over the handling of Eliesa Katoa’s repeated head knocks. Head doctor Peter Hackney, assistant Hoani McFater and head trainer Jonathan Crawley – who work with the Dolphins, Warriors and Cowboys respectively – were sanctioned after Katoa suffered bleeding on the brain and seizures following three hits in two hours during a match. He passed two HIAs before collapsing on the sideline and has already been ruled out of the entire 2026 season. At least one of the medical team is considering challenging the sanctions, with their fate to be determined next year.
