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Cronulla Sharks five-eighth James Maloney says NRL players will not sacrifice their privacy in exchange for the richest pay deal in the history of the game.
In a show of solidarity, about 300 players met in Sydney and via video link to be briefed on the latest pay negotiations with the NRL.
While the players are happy with the salary-cap figure of $9.4 million that is on the table, they are not impressed about proposed changes to integrity unit protocols, which could see the NRL allowed access to their bank and phone records.
"It's tricky, we want our privacy and we want to be treated fairly," Maloney said.
"But at the same time you have an issue of integrity and we want to make sure we keep the sport scandal free and you don't want those clouds hanging over you."
It is understood in the event the NRL had a reasonable suspicion of an integrity issue, it would be able to access a player's personal details.
"I don't think taking away all our privacy is a way to solve that," Maloney said.
Players also have not ruled out industrial action if a resolution cannot be reached.
If a deal is not struck soon, players could boycott the Dally M Medal or the Rugby League World Cup.
"We haven't ruled anything out," Maloney said.
But he said the players hoped it would not come to that.
"Obviously at this sort of stage, there's things we've got that we can use as leverage if the NRL didn't want to come to the party but we think it's going the right way," he said.
Topics: sport, rugby-league, nrl, sydney-2000