If the purpose of central contacts is to stop our best players going to union whilst remaining fair, surely it would be simpler just to pay a massive bonus when a player plays for England, direct from the rfl and so doesn't count on the cap. Benefits the player directly but doesn't really disadvantage the weaker clubs.

Central contracts are an absolute no. Increased payments for playing internationals should help keep some in league. However with RU international crowds at 80,000 and RL international crowds at 20,000, and a lot more union international games than league in a season, the RFL could never match what the RFU pay international players, which I believe is £8000 for a loss and £12,000 for a win (remember reading a few years ago payments being increased to this so possibly even higher).