Greg Worthington has revealed his wife has been forced to cut her maternity leave short to support the family as a result of Toronto Wolfpack continuing to not pay wages.
The centre, a fan favourite at the Wolfpack after joining the club at their inception, has also taken a job working in manual labour as he fears he will never be paid the money owed by the club.
Opening up on the turmoil the players are experiencing, Worthington revealed the extent of the repercussions it has had on his family including his wife Amy, who has now returned to work in order to support two-year-old son Samuel and eight-month-old daughter Grace.
All staff have not been paid for almost three months which has caused serious strain, both financially and mentally, for all concerned.
“As the non-payments started my wife was on maternity so we had no wage coming into our household,” he said.
“My initial plan was to get to a club on loan based on the fact it wouldn’t cost a new club I’m going to any money. But the downside was that I wasn’t getting paid by Toronto so it wasn’t possible for me to do that and I don’t think it’s morally right to be going to clubs and getting a wage when their current players are taking pay cuts.
“So my wife decided to cut her maternity short because with no money coming in we were dipping into our savings to be spent on investment purposes and holidays down the line.
“I also sourced work of my own in house renovation while the mess that is Toronto Wolfpack rumbles on. So that’s what I’m doing right now.”
Despite owner David Argyle promising to honour wages for the rest of the season, Worthington, who has played 51 games for the club, does not believe he will ever see the money owed.
“I have zero confidence I’ll get any of the wage I’m owed. I can’t speak for the rest of the team but my personal view is that I’ve no confidence I will get paid so I’ve gone out and got work to make sure my household is financially secure.
“We’ve been given multiple dates on multiple occasions by David Argyle as to when we would get paid and I’ve been let down every time. I can’t wait and hope for the best so I’ve gone out and found work, which in the current climate isn’t easy to do because everyone is trying to retain the staff they’ve had for years.
“I’m lucky, I jumped in with family and I’m very lucky they’ve been able to provide me some work but I’m very fortunate I can use prior qualifications I gained as a younger man.
“I know a lot of lads that have never had full-time jobs before and if that’s abruptly taken from them and you haven’t got your work and your retirement plan in place; a lot of people leave it late to sort out life after rugby, you have a plan to get to 34 then have something lined up.
“Now they’re facing a global pandemic and a club going bust, if you haven’t planned you’re having it thrown upon you in weeks to find a new career path in this climate. It would be daunting in any employment.”
Worthington admitted he was concerned for the mental wellbeing of his team-mates.
“We’re literally stuck in limbo. We’re waiting on regular updates but at the moment it’s very slow, we’re hoping investors come in and that if they do they honour the payroll for the rest of the season.
“We’re in the unknown, players are wondering if their contracts are worthless, you’re in open water trying to swim and we don’t know where it’s going.”
