Eels in further cap trouble: reports

Parramatta could lose four points before the start of the NRL season after apparent irregularities were reportedly found in Anthony Watmough's contract.

The issues relate to Watmough's third-party deals, which include companies directly related to the club, according to Fairfax Media.

The former NSW and Australia second-rower joined the club from the Sea Eagles for the beginning of the 2014 season, at which time a number of third-party deals were included in the contract registered with the NRL.

However it is alleged the Eels failed to report that one of those companies, ScoreCube, is a wholly owned subsidiary of BlackCitrus, a company who provides a number of technological services to the club.

NRL rules prevent companies with a commercial interest in a club from providing third-party deals for that franchise's players.

The Eels are already in hot water with the NRL after breaching numerous tiers of the salary cap on multiple occasions in the 2014 season.

The club was issued with a four-point penalty for the 2016 season when the breaches were uncovered last year, but it could be avoided if the Eels got their house in order before February 29 this year.

The penalty also came with a warning that any further breaches before that date would result in the points being deducted.

The club is also yet to enact all of the 52 governance reforms recommended by the NRL last May, while the NRL is understood to be still investigating Parramatta's salary cap situation.

There is no suggestion that either BlackCitrus or Anthony Watmough had any knowledge of the potential breach.