The Union player drain is simple.. internationals! We need more internationals on the BBC and to be played in big stadiums, your Wembleys, Old Traffords, Etihads etc. I believe England will be on the BBC until 2017, which is excellent, but we're not sure what the venues will be like. The RFL should be looking into the next home Four Nations right away, get booking out the big venues. The RFL should look into teaming up with a marketing or PR company to help boost the sport's and top names' profiles.

As for the NRL, it's not such a big problem to me, as it least it's still RL, even though the rules seem to be completely different over there. I don't mind having a few over there, as it will give the English players a different environment and mindset, but I don't want all the superstars to leave otherwise it could end up like the NBA or something, where all the top names are in one country.

yes lets remove the salary cap so 4-5 teams can continue to dominate over the poor sides at will find their level or we could do as been mention about the marque signings being exempt and funded separately, then that way at least all clubs can get a chance depending on their ability to raise interest on the player

Like that young Kyle Eastmond chap, splendid talent and setting the the RU world ablaze..........

Seriously though RU and salary caps have their own issues like Welsh players moving to france en mass and the WRU centrally signing the national captain with the intention of him being loaned out. Forgetting of course there is not actually an agreement between the regions to do this.

I think things do need to change as for how ditching the cap is not a great way to go. Central contracts are an option though i'm not a fan.

Perhaps an IPL style auction

They are.....what are the home international fixtures for 2014?
Signing up to show internationals on FTA is only really worth while if you're going to then have some international RL matches to show.....and 7am on a Sunday morning isn't exactly what you'd expect to be the only games on offer

No England V Exiles in 2014?

I've not read all the posts but I think the cap needs to be removed for homegrown players.
So homegrown players don't count on the salary cap.

I don't think raising the cap is an answer at all. If anything, I would lower it.

At the moment, the game is in a state of financial peril. London, Wakefield, Bradford. How long can Cas and Hull KR survive? Saints, Warrington and Salford are all bank-rolled to a certain extent.

Deleting the salary cap or raising it, would only lead to greater inequality between teams and a less interesting competition.

The American approach to sport is spot on. Part of their popularity is their competitiveness.

So, unless we want to drop down to an 8 team league the salary cap has to stay as it is in my opinion.

Besides, who exactly is this player drain? Sam Burgess is in the NRL with a huge salary cap and a lifestyle some could only dream of. So are we talking Kyle Eastmond and Joel Tomkins?

The bigger problem, to me, is that players cannot test themselves on the largest stage, and no Salary Cap adjustments will fix that.

Re NRL and salaries. The aussie dollar was so strong for the last 3 years but now it's declining. So paying Sam Burgess AU$300,000p.a. was around £198,000, but today would be around £165,000. So the brit players came over earning a fair crust with it not being a huge amount to NRL clubs.

When Sam Burgess came in, to be under the salary cap, he went on a sliding salary, like Inglis. ie. His money went up year on year. In his time there the salary cap has also increased. So who knows what he's on now.


GF, agree on Melbourne. But to be fair, the league was part owned by the TV people who wanted a team there and owned the side. As for transparency they rorted the salary cap to no end for years and no-one was really punished with not one of Murdoch's employees being done for it. Watch Melbourne over the next 3 seasons without all of Rupert's money and more importantly as they slip down the table.

they only count as a maximum of £100k now. So at Saints for example Roby and Lomax's new contracts only count as £100k each, but probably alot more!

That's from 2015 not next year

You're paying lomax 100k ?

And people ask why we DON'T scrap the salary cap?

The American model simply won't work anywhere else in the world, whatever the success. American sports clubs don't have academies, they don't produce youngsters. The colleges do. Once the kids finish college then the drafting system starts.

Over here players come through club run academies. From a clubs point of view what would be the point in investing time and money into youth development if when the players are becoming ready for 1st team they get drafted to other clubs.

We are potentially on the verge of a very exciting time for RL. We had an amazing World Cup, we have a chairman who is wiling to chuck massive money into a club and says he can attract others to do the same yet the biggest headline is England's biggest superstar is probably off to kick and clap.

Scrap the salary cap entirely and replace it with a requirement to break even over a 3 year period. If a club doesn't it looses it's franchise and is thrown out of the league. I don't care how the club breaks even whether it is through raising revenue streams or owner donations. At the same time raise the number of home grown players that must be in a teams squad and introduce a minimum number for a match day team. For example a club must name 10 players who have come through its own youth development system in their squad and at least 3 in every matchday 17. That way you can buy all the superstars you want but you still have to produce a few as well.

The solution to the player drain is the same as the solution to all RLs problems, planning plain and simple, whats the saying " Failure to plan, ** ******** ** fail "

This applies both to clubs and the sports administration, Licencing SHOULD have allowed the sport and its clubs to grow, but it was badly planned from the start with the Celtic fiasco, compounded since with clubs failure to run themselves fincially

We now have a new structure that SHOULD give virtually all clubs something to play for well into their respective seasons providing all clubs plan for all eventualities

Similarily the new TV deal SHOULD allow all clubs to operate financially prudent budgets to enable them to concentrare on building their own revenue streams and primarilly their fan bases providing again that all clubs plan for all eventualities

Providing the clubs do what they SHOULD, then the RFL SHOULD be able to concentrate on general management of the sport ( but not micromanaging any existing clubs) but more specifically the International aspect and future expansion, providing they formulate realistic and workable plans for both

There really are no more excuses