Casino CCTV, private investigator that saved Johnathan Thurston's career
They are the rugby league deal makers who hold $200 million worth of playing talent in their hands.
And for the first time, CODE Sports has lifted the lid on NRL player agents, with a full list of who manages your favourite players, the faceless puppet masters running the game, and the untold stories from the men who do more than just sign contracts.
In a new investigation, some of the biggest scandals in NRL history have been reopened, with new detail provided from those involved.
In 2010, Johnathan Thurston's NRL career was hanging by a thread after the star player was arrested outside a Brisbane casino — enter long-time manager Sam Ayoub.
Few NRL players faced the furnace of scrutiny like Cowboys legend Thurston, who turned to Ayoub for help as he faced the sack.
By then a Queensland and Test star, Thurston was allegedly kicked out of Brisbane's Treasury Casino before being arrested by police after being accused of skylarking on the street outside the casino.
Thurston spent the night locked up in a Brisbane watch-house. Upon release the next day, he flew to Townsville for a crisis meeting with the Cowboys board, which had voted to sack him.
That's when Ayoub took matters into his own hands, hiring a private investigator to look into the scandal.
'I spent $4000 to hire a private investigator to prove they had it all wrong with JT,' Ayoub said.
'The Cowboys had voted to sack him.
'At the time, JT was accused of being drunk and on the piss with his crutches.
'He was accused of throwing his crutch at a car while his mates were skylarking. They said he was drunk at Brisbane casino.
'I got the PI to investigate it. He went through the casino footage.
'It was found that JT had one bourbon and coke and he didn't even finish that drink in the three-and-a-half hours he was there.
'The street cameras then picked up JT outside the casino and the footage showed his mates were carrying on.
'JT swung his crutch at one of his mates to tell him to calm down.
'The Cowboys were worried about the media outrage and fallout. That's when I presented this file to the board and after seeing it, they decided to give him another chance.
'JT was deeply embarrassed and that was a turning point in his life given what was said that wasn't true.
'Fortunately, the casino and street cameras had the evidence and that saved him.'
It was not the only issue Ayoub confronted — he also worked with the Cowboys to address explosive sex rumours that had engulfed the club. Ayoub's managerial peers have scores of similar stories of helping players in their darkest hours.
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