Top cricket negotiator poached to represent NRL players in pay talks

League players will have one of the sports top negotiator, their interests in the collective agreement talks represent by their union the legal counsel of the Australian Cricketers Association poached.

Just weeks after an advisory headlined by former Nine Network boss David Gyngell to create the Rugby League Players Association has strengthened its ranks with the addition of Tim Lythe.

A former first-class cricketer Lythe has the past 18 months on behalf of the Australian captain Steve Smith and his cricketing mates during a bitter confrontation with Cricket Australia.The Kiwi-born all-rounder has experience in a number of sports output, have helped netball, hockey and softball in New Zealand unionise. He has also worked with the State of America's Cup team and New Zealand Rugby.

advertising

He comes into the league at a critical time, because the game is to begin negotiations for a CBA, which will determine the salary cap for 2018 and beyond.

"I am hugely passionate about the sport itself," Lythe said his brother played for the Warriors, and whose father coached League for a quarter of a century.

"It is exciting to grow the players union to improve their relations with the members and all other stakeholders, including the NRL, the Commission and the associations.

"To be a part of it is attractive. We have to go to the next stage and bring it to a level where it is with the AFLPA [AFL union] and compared to others who are perceived to be a little stronger.

"Obviously, preparations for the CBA will be important, but we do not approach that in any adversarial manner. We are looking for strong relationships within the game, not only for the improvement of the players, but also the game itself."

Lythe promising cricketing career was cut short when he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1999 at the age of 19th

The off-spinner / batsman had put his career on hold when he had an operation in which half of his left thigh bone was replaced with a titanium rod while his knee was replaced with a complex prosthesis.

Despite the setback, he made an inspirational return to the first-class ranks before boarding law on a career. He said his own setbacks have played a role want to protect the welfare and rights of other athletes in him.

"I was a bit leaning socialist anyway," he said. "You want to make sure that the players are well maintained in any type of work, but it was probably more unconscious, that it had an impact."

The RLPA has declared his intention to push for a fixed share of match revenue - the players who currently receive about 25 percent - in CBA negotiations. Lythe who starts his new job this week, said that a model for other sports organizations was successful.

"The best example in my experience in the rugby environment New Zealand," he said.

"Whether that was a trip that we go down and it is believed in the rugby league, we will wait and see. This is something that could be discussed in negotiations CBA.

"People can get caught up in percentages. For me it is the underlying philosophy is oriented in their interest to have the major players to grow the game."

Lythe was exposed to the league of big hitters, Raelene Castle when the Bulldogs was head of the chief of Netball New Zealand.

"When we played collective agreements negotiate if this is the correct terminology, we developed a good working relationship," he said.

"It is terrible and a good operator, a tough negotiator, but fair and reasonable to."