Plus Dudson, Russell, Bullock ?, has Wood done enough to be retained ?, then a few small salaries as we will part ways with some of the following ; Bardsley -Rowe, Hartill, Lynch, Jake Thewliss possibly, Green, Whitehead ?. We will have to make room of course for the promising U18's like Taylor Wrey but I don't see as many coming through to the first team next year.

It must be a very complicated jigsaw to piece together but I suspect that if we really wanted to keep Bateman we could do it.

Would keep Whitehead and Wood.

Skimming the rules re salary cap I believe that players under 21 and earning <£30k pa don't count towards the cap. If that's the case, and of course I don't know how much individual players are on, then Wood may fall as under 21 but not Whitehead, which would count against him.

I go back to what Sam Burgess said about him wanting to retain Drinkwater but that cap space was tight for next year. We definitely need another experienced half, be that Drinkwater or AN Other, and a lack of space would suggest that we have another significant signing in mind that would account for the combined salary of Drinkwater and Nicholson. There was also no mention of not having an overseas quota spot for Drinkwater. The tealeaves are telling me a non-overseas half, but I haven't a clue who it is (please, not Lomax).

Well was talk of a wow signing at half so it can’t be Lomax he is gone now. Also he is not a 7

Agree about Whitehead and Wood.

I would also retain Ben Hartill, he needs to work on building some more muscle on his physique but looks to like a very promising hooker.

We need some cover for an injury to Walker/Powell and his wage wouldn`t seriously affect our Salary Cap.

Mikey lewis

He wouldn’t ‘wow’ me in the slightest

Lewis is entertaining every time, but not game controlliing. I don’t think he’s what we need alongside Williams, but then Burgess seems to know what works and what doesn’t. Or Gleeson does anyway.

Do we know how the salary cap rules would work regards Bateman? So for example his current deal is rumoured to be £350k per year. Let’s say Wests were prepared to pay £200k per year for his remaining 2 years. Would his cap value to us be £150k or £350k? Not including any use of marquee allowances etc.

There would be no point in Wests contributing to his salary, unless it counted on our Salary Cap and not on theirs.

Wests want him off their books, we won’t be prepared to pay £350k per year for him ( nor will any side in SL I expect). If Wests move him on any payment they make to us will not be on the salary cap. So they would have $700k AUD of space on their cap. I’m just not sure how it works from our side.

Yes, I understand that Wests want him shut of him and are prepared to pay a portion of his salary.

His new club (If he leaves them) would have all his wages loaded onto their Salary Cap.

He is however Federation Trained, so as a Marquee Player there is a reduction in the Salary Cap loading, compared to a Non-Federation Trained player.

Someone posted on here, that Dufty has been recently deselected as a Marquee Player for this season, and now Bateman has replaced him as a Marquee Player, which gives us more room on the Cap.

Hence Bateman`s wage, would only count on the Salary Cap, for a Federation Trained Marquee Player.

Bateman might not work out any way. But if he does and Tigers really want him gone, he doesn't really have much leverage wage wise unless someone is daft enough to pay that for him. He might have to take a pay cut with no choice, i doubt we'd pay that wage for him unless he came over and was absolutely superb and a massive game changer for us. But i just can't see it, but you never know.

He is contracted to Wests for a further two seasons after this.

He has more leverage than they have because he knows they don`t want him back.