16 Jul 2010

Gallop says NRL will help Melbourne Storm

4:47 pm on 16 July 2010

The National Rugby League's chief executive David Gallop says he's willing to work with Melbourne's new management to get the club under the salary cap in 2011, but has ruled out across-the-board pay cuts.

An audit by accounting firm Deloitte, carried out on behalf of the Storm owners, News Limited, has shown the club is over $1.5 million above the cap next season.

The News Limited chairman John Hartigan, says the club's determined to hold onto key players Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and skipper Cameron Smith but admits the club will need the support of the NRL to make that happen.

Gallop says undoing years of salary cap cheating is a complicated issue and not one that can be solved by simply making pay cuts - although he's open to individual contracts being renegotiated.