NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo says the players association's planned media boycott is "disappointing" and will only hurt the teams' respective fans.
A group of 50 players from all clubs have agreed to boycott all media responsibilities on gamedays - meaning no players will be available to be interviewed before, during or after matches, including the State of Origin finale.
The stand comes after the RLPA rejected the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement offer from the NRL, which Abdo described as a "landmark" deal.
Players will keep the boycott in place until the completion of a draft CBA, covering men and women players, under an industrial relations mediator and players' pre-pandemic entitlements are reinstated.
All NRL players have been instructed to refuse to take part in all TV, radio, print and digital interviews on matchdays.
Dressingroom access will also be cut off to Fox League and Channel Nine - the NRL’s multi-million dollar broadcast rights partners.
The ban will be in force from the beginning to end of every round, with players only allowed to partake in interviews on Monday and Tuesday each week with the NRL-club based websites. Players will also still be allowed to maintain existing relationships with media organisations on Monday and Tuesday each week.
Abdo says fans will suffer the most as a result of the players' stance.
"It was disappointing to listen to and hear the actions that the players and the RLPA are going to be taking, because as far as we're concerned, they impact on our customers and our fans the most," said Abdo.
"The media are storytellers, the media take the game and the players to the fans, so a lockout of media access only punishes our partners, only punishes the fans. That's disappointing.
"Importantly, we have chosen not to negotiate this deal via the media. We have refrained from making public statements.
"We have refrained from attacking any individual. We have refrained from playing the man, but rather focused on the outcome and the ball."
Abdo refuses to discuss whether players would get money taken out of their pay packets for not fulfilling their media obligations.
"Our issue is not with the media," said RLPA chief executive Clint Newton. "This player action is about safeguarding the integrity of the NRL and the NRLW, and standing up for what is right.
"I am fearful and concerned about the trajectory of our game, with all major stakeholder agreements unsigned, unresolved and unannounced."
Private health insurance, the implementation of a transfer system and revenue distribution have all been points of contention between the two parties throughout the talks.
