ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie says there is a stark contrast between how the NRL handled their salary cap cheating saga to Australian cricket's ball-tampering scandal.
After a nine-month investigation into a cap breach by Manly, the NRL on Monday fined the club $750,000 and wiped a combined $660,000 off their cap over the next two years.
The NRL has also come under fire for suggesting former Sea Eagles supremo Bob Fulton was involved, even though they were unable to sanction him because he is no longer a registered official.
Beattie compared the NRL's management of their cheating to that of Cricket Australia.
"I understand the sensitivity of Bob Fulton. I've been a fan of his my whole life," Beattie said on Tuesday.
"But when you look at what's happening - and this is a terrible thing for me to say and I'll probably get in trouble for saying it - if you look at what's happening in cricket, there's a stark contrast here."
He praised NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg for his handling of the punishment.
"We are enforcing the rules clearly in the interests of the game. That's never going to be easy," he said.
"That's why someone like Todd, when he does the right thing, we as the commission will back him in the interests of the game and we won't move away from that. Everyone needs to understand that.
"No one likes cheats in Australia no matter what game it is. No matter what code, you have to enforce standards. We will stick with Todd when he makes these tough decisions."
The NRL confirmed the Sea Eagles will be handed their entire club grant, effectively resulting in owner Scott Penn being financially better off as $250,000 of the fine is suspended.
""I've heard that suggestion and to be honest that's a ridiculous suggestion, primarily because if you walk around every one of the 16 clubs, what is the thing that matters most? Winning," Greenberg said.
"And what do you do to get success on the field? You buy players and have a very strong salary cap and roster management. What we've done is penalise them in that space, that's what hurts most."
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