www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... 14,00.html for those wondering if the salary cap does indeed work in making the competition even. of course to do that all clubs need to be spending the full amount or close to it. in around 5 years it will be the same in SL where a club will have to start losing players once it wins a grand final, rather than being able to remain on top for a period of 5 - 10 years. in the nrl you have around 3 years with your squad before you start have to shedding players, especially with a succesful team. by sharing the talent around more club will win the SL title, resulting in bigger crowsd all round and a more interesting competition where upsets are more likely.

www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... 14,00.html for those wondering if the salary cap does indeed work in making the competition even. of course to do that all clubs need to be spending the full amount or close to it. in around 5 years it will be the same in SL where a club will have to start losing players once it wins a grand final, rather than being able to remain on top for a period of 5 - 10 years. in the nrl you have around 3 years with your squad before you start have to shedding players, especially with a succesful team. by sharing the talent around more club will win the SL title, resulting in bigger crowsd all round and a more interesting competition where upsets are more likely.

yeh because melbourne haven't been great for years and Sth's haven't been equally e!

There is of course an evening out but to say the NRL is 100% equal at the start of every season is nonsense. I am sure as every team gets to full spend over the next 5 years it will be more even but the UK will always suffer from overseas players wanting to sign to the club that gives them the best chance of winners medals/Wembley appearance and talented Uk players signing for clubs that give them the best shot at a England shirt.

in Oz your team isn't a handicap to rep honours like it is in the UK.

every team in the nrl bar the titans has made the semis.

fairly level to me.

and the team that wins the competition changes every year pretty much.

you dont see the same 4 teams dominating.

souths made their first semi final series 2 years ago for the first time since 1989 because they are now finally spending the full amount on players they are allowed too.

Have to agree with dally. If it works properly here it will benefit the game as a whole.

A restriction of trade [size if you're a Leeds fan that is [/size

Should be dropped tommorrow

we shouldnt be sharing talent around, we should be in competition to get more talent of the highest quality possible, each club doing everything it can to bring in as much quality, at the highest level it possible can so it can gain competitive advantage by being the best, not by waiting their turn on the trophy merry go round and not artificial competitiveness to cover for that unavoidable fact that some clubs are run like crap and playing at a level above their potential,

the SC didnt create the Melbourne side, its just breaking it up because some clubs are a bit and cant catch up,

and what you still dont understand Dally, is that the next club to win the NRL, and the next club to have two or three years of success wont be the team which takes on the players melbourne let go, it will be the team that brings through the next Folau, Inglis, Slater, Smith, Cronk, and then that team will be dismantled, and the game in Australia will never move forward, because once a team hits a certain level of quality, the whining children will start complaining about how the bigger boys are better than they are,

the SC has made the NRL a pro sporting version of a politically correct sports day, where everyone gets a medal because we don’t want the less able to feel bad about themselves do we

this part of the article seems a worthwhile aim for us though
sounds like exactly what we need

By introducing a rule where only say 75% of a players salary counts towards the cap for those brought through as juniors will sort it out.

Rewarding the likes of Melbourne for their investment and giving at least a possibility of retaining those players long term.

why have any kind of limit on it

I've only spent one summer in the UK, but can tell you now that the quality of players in the NRL and game is superior to that of SL. My main criticism of the NRL and RL is the amount of wrestling allowed, something which hurt england (and the amount of imports here) in the World Cup.

A salary cap means that clubs actually do invest in junior development to bring through great younger players. These kids usually play one or two seasons at a lower wage and usually end up resigning on upgraded contracts that would be below their market value should they test it out if they waited the extra year or two.

Sure clubs might lose one or two stars over time, but the cap works. Clubs dont go broke, there is an even and always changing competition (bringing more fans, everyone loves a winner) and developing juniors and 'sides' (see melbourne over the past 4 years) loyalty, club culture is important.

Yes it may be a restraint of trade, but no one has dared challenge it becuase it works. Personally I beleive it would help develop SL, more UK juniors and possibly rid the reliance on the ordinary imports you bring over here.