Eels bosses 'publicly flogged': lawyer

Five Parramatta officials embroiled in the NRL salary cap dispute have returned to court, arguing that the league denied them procedural fairness when it moved to strip them of their club duties.

The fates of Eels chairman Steve Sharp, chief executive John Boulous, head of football Daniel Anderson, deputy chairman Tom Issa and director Peter Serrao have been under a cloud since the NRL ordered them to show cause as to why they should not be de-registered over their alleged role in salary cap breaches amounting to $3 million since 2013.

Their barrister, Arthur Moses SC, told a NSW Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday that the men were given only a few hours' notice before a sensational press conference on May 3 in which the NRL announced that the men would be provisionally suspended and that Parramatta would be fined and docked competition points.

Those interim suspensions have been put on ice and the show-cause deadline extended to June 3, but Mr Moses said allegations had nevertheless been thrown about "like confetti" for weeks.

"In effect there's been a public flogging of the plaintiffs," Mr Moses said.

He said there was evidence that the NRL's investigations had been afoot for months but that the league's governing body had chosen to "pull the trigger" when it did without giving the so-called "gang of five" proper notice or right-of-reply, which he argued was a requirement under the NRL's own rules.

"That right to be heard may have been afforded simply and quickly by the defendant, but it did not do so," Mr Moses said.

"(Any suspension) may have a detrimental impact on current or future employment opportunities, their reputation, and therefore their livelihood and standing within the community."

The hearing continues.