The quality of the Crusaders squad and their performance in Super League has a direct effect on every other club, including Leeds.


Pay Leeds players a bagillion bagillion dollars, they would still just been Leeds, no better.


Hold on......thats what Warrington are trying to do!

Just to pick you up on this point, the reason Australia is so strong is because it's the number one code of football in 55% of the country (population wise), it is THE sport to play for kids, it is THE sport that gets the most media coverage and that's not because the kids can earn the most money playing RL far from it! RL in Aus has a profile akin to Association Football in England, the player pathways, the sponsorship etc etc all stems from that, the NRL also has a very strict Salary Cap and one that works very very well.

If you think the reason Australia are ahead GB/England is because of the Salary Cap I would say you are very wrong.

Who was that guy on here last week saying all the different ways you could make your money go further on the cap.
That explains Warrington methinks.

And we all know it.
Even though we get Freaky and crew going oonn and ooonnn.
THE best athletes play League, everyone says you could field 4 teams to beat us, you couldn't..nowhere near, but in your First/Second choice positions you have ATHLETES that we just dont have. If you took your first choice player from each position you'd still have a VERY strong team but I think we'd stand a much much better chance. You certainly dont have 4 that would beat us e.g. Look how Ellis has gone over there.
The nearest thing we have to your freaks is Burgess, who at 18 was a big game player

You miss one major reason we are good.


We have the most dynamic mix of players and coaches from so many different backgrounds, giving so many different perspectives.

That means things get tried, tested, people learn from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others. The game and the players evolve as changes are made.

In England, none of that happens. You're still in 1982 wondering how the f*ck Australia got so good all of a sudden, then you look at your own belly buttons and think the answer will come from there!

Loads of ways you can make you cap go further around how you pay appearance and win bonuses, and the granularity of payments versus the assumptions you are told to base payments on in the Salary cap rules. E.g. appearances are to be based on a figure of 18 per season.

pay your player 2k per appearance it's 36k on the cap even if he plays 21 games at gets 42k from it

pay him 14k every 7th appearance, and it's only 28k on the cap even if he plays the same 21 games and gets 42k from it

Just a tiny example, i'm sure somebody with a bit of savy at possibly more than one of the clubs has spreadsheeted and analysed this and all the other rules to determine the 'optimal' way to pay a player to create as big a difference as possible between his earned income and his 'salary cap value'

The way most clubs get players on good salaries at low cap figures is a brown paper bag full of money.

Whilst slightly harsh on the last paragraph (I think some are acutely aware how Australia got so good, just maybe it's only just sinking in with some of the people who can make the decisions), you're dead right. Whilst we remain a pretty insular sport over here in coaching respects - the RL old boys club if you like, we're never going to take a large step forward, we need to be inclusive of ideas from all sports and all nations. Bring in as many different views and ideas as possible, and work a damn site harder and have the patience to see it through rather than expecting quick results.

Possibly, I just can't comment on that type of thing due to the AUP.

It just show's over here though there is a lot of scope to work within the rules and pay more for less cap figure - I suspects some clubs have better accountants than others

I want Warrington and Russel Crowe's accountants.


They have worked miracles in the last few months.

I must admit, i wish they were doing my tax liability as well.

What's getting around the cap got to do with accountants?
The whole idea of getting around the cap is to pay players by methods that won't involve accountants, SL clubs, The RFL or in fact the UK.
It's as easy as that to get around the cap, I just don't understand why clubs don't do it!
Sorry, what did you say...............

Maybe there would (fairly likely), maybe there would not; but that was not the point I was making.

Its easy to say that you'd support a free-for-all, when you know or believe its highly unlikely your own club would suffer.