One of rugby league’s most powerful player agents, David Riolo, has shared strong and candid opinions about his under-fire profession.
Speaking on the Chiming In podcast hosted by fellow veteran player agent, Steve Gillis, Riolo, 53, declared the vast majority of NRL agents are paying the price for the actions of a few.
“There are over 140 agents and the majority are working within the rules,” Riolo explained.
“But there are a few who have done the wrong thing, allegedly, and the media then brings that to light which casts aspersions and a shadow on all of us.”
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“You’ve got murderers, you’ve got rapists—and then you’ve got player agents and lawyers and real estate agents, all down there together,” Riolo said sarcastically.
A former first-grader who played over 100 games for Illawarra and Parramatta between 1990-98, Riolo believes history is another reason why player agents continue to be perceived poorly.
“Historically, agents weren’t governed by the NRL, we had our own independent system and I think with the perception that agents aren’t controlled, there’s been mistrust and angst,” he said.
Riolo was also blunt about the current process to become a registered player agent, which is understood to be under review by an NRL working group.
‘The bar to get in is too low’
“Unfortunately I don’t think you have to do enough (to become an NRL player agent), that’s half the problem,” he told Gillis.
“I think the bar to get in is too low, there should be a much tougher knowledge test, there needs to be a better system in terms of experience.”
“If we want to lift the standard of our industry, we need to lift the standard of the entry level.”
Riolo ended with a defiant statement of support for his profession and its role in the modern NRL landscape.
“We are an industry that cares, we work really hard, we play an important part in the game,” he said.
“Agents are in the game now—we’re not going away.”
Through their respective companies, Steve Gillis (GS Sports Management) and David Riolo (Titan Sports) manage some of the biggest stars in the NRL.