The NRL has attacked the Canberra Raiders' poor record of salary cap compliance after the Green Machine cited "unplanned player movements" for their fifth breach in six years.
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The Raiders have been fined $16,037 for second tier and under-20s breaches last year, adding to four previous minor infringements in recent years.
The Raiders went over the second tier cap by $2598 and spent $8093 more than they should have on the under-20s squad.
The club attributed the extra spending on a variety of reasons, including bonuses and being forced to call players into the NRL squad for the regular season.
But the NRL opted to send a message by fining the Raiders 150 per cent of their breach because of their constant infringements.
To put the Raiders' breach in perspective, the Canterbury Bulldogs self reported an $81,965 breach for their NRL salary cap last year and were fined $61,474 as 75 per cent of the amount.
The Raiders added mid-season recruits Joe Tapine and Junior Paulo to their roster last year but the duo's respective clubs, Newcastle and Parramatta, were paying a chunk of their salaries.
The Raiders also promoted Clay Priest to their top squad two months into the season after he impressed for feeder club Mounties while Sisa Waqa left the capital in the middle of the year to play French rugby union.
"The Raiders have reviewed the breaches handed down from the NRL salary cap auditors for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, which relate to circumstances surrounding the clubs second tier and NYC salary caps," Furner said.
"Due to changes to the club's rosters during this period and injuries which forced squad changes, the club was forced to make some unplanned player movements which have forced minor breaches of the salary cap.
"The Raiders continue to work with the NRL to effectively manage the salary cap in accordance with the rules and regulations.
"It's unfortunate that we've had to endure these fines, but the club accepts the NRL decision regarding these breaches."
Canberra was also fined $68,073 for breaches of the NRL ($1622) and NYC ($66,451) caps in 2015.
NRL chief operating officer Nick Weeks said the breaches were at the lower end of the scale but would still be peanlised.
"The club has a poor record of compliance with the salary cap rules, having recorded breaches in five of the last six years," Weeks said.
"As a result, the club has been fined 150 per cent of its breach amount ($16,037)."
The Raiders have lost the past three games in a row and are fighting to force their way back into the top eight after a form slide over the past month.
Wrecking ball Josh Papalii has been recalled to the squad after serving a one-match suspension for his drink-driving conviction.
Papalii will be a massive inclusion for the Raiders as they aim to avoid a four-match losing streak against the Parramatta Eels on Saturday night.
The Raiders haven't lost four games in a row since the end of the 2015 season and they haven't lost five in a row since 2014.
NRL ROUND 11
Saturday: Parramatta Eels v Canberra Raiders at ANZ Stadium, 7:30pm. TV time: Live on Fox League.
Raiders team: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (C), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson , 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Adam Clydsdale, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Clay Priest, 17. Sia Soliola, 18. Dunamis Lui, 19. Jordan Turner, 20. Dave Taylor, 21. Scott Sorensen
Eels team: 1. Bevan French, 2. Semi Radradra, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Kirisome Auva'a, 5. Josh Hoffman, 6. Clint Gutherson, 7. Will Smith, 8. Suaia Matagi, 9. Kaysa Pritchard, 10. Tim Mannah (c), 11. Manu Ma'u, 12. Tepai Moeroa, 13. Nathan Brown. Interchange: 14. Beau Scott (c), 15. Daniel Alvaro, 16. Kenny Edwards, 17. Siosaia Vave, 18. David Gower, 19. Rory O'Brien, 20. Brad Takairangi, 21. Mitchell Moses
