I did state that the RFL and the clubs should do something to protect these players. I am not happy about the time and effort we put into these players for them to sod off. However the money isn't there to compete with the RFU its not and other than tieing these kids down and making them play rugby league theres nothing you can do if they want the money and leave.

I'm not suggesting that there will be another player as talanted as Sam Tomkins, but you can't live in the fear that if these players leave its the end of British Rugby League, because its not, its a bumb but not the end. No player is bigger than the sport, and if a player ever did become bigger than the sport, i would want them out anyway.

I didn't protend it didn't happen either, I quite clearly stated that it does and we should try and stop it.

I'm not living in cloud cookoo land I'm living in the times of modern sport, were loyalty by players and most definately agents are 0 and were players have the power.
I am a Blackburn rovers fan as well as a massive wigan rugby league fan and if I had a pound for everytime a promising players leaves for a bigger club i'd be driving a austin martin. To the players its a job and they want to make money as much as they can, yes we need to make league look more attractive to make them stay but Union has the money and money does talk, loudly.

Let me ask you if you did all your training and started your working life at superdrug and 3 years later boots came along and offered you more money for the same job (if not easier) would you stay loyal to superdrug? if so your a better man than most, because i'd say at least 90% of people would leave for boots.

Good idea mate companies like Aviva,Heineken,Zurich,Guinness and 02 would be a start.

getting on a lucazade add or i think its jessica ennis on a powerade add at the minute, we could have players doing similar, thing like this.

however it is a wierd cross over, its actually the job of the the players agent to sort these things out, however with rugby league the way it is, we could really do with the marketing and press officers at the RFL pulling some strings.

Getting players on soccer am ( i think burgess was the last about 2 years ago!) and on some kind of TV programme e.g. stirckly come dancing or saturday kitchen, they might come across cheesy but at least the faces and names are out and about, their must be some bad celebrity game show, charity thing we could get the lads on like come dine with me, I don't know half of them on those programmes so they can't be that fussy.

I'm pretty sure the RFU have these tatics especially with the dancing/skating thing and other such programmes. When was the last time there was a rugby player that didn't work for the BBC on a question of sport!

alternatively we need one of the lads to go out with some kind of actress/singer and have some dodgey wedding that will devorce in a year? isn't Cheryl Cole avaliable these days.

Thats because he has the face of a rat!!

I'm a bit confused about this clamour to get rid of the salary cap?.....Would getting rid of it, not just lead to clubs spending money they don't have, on players they can't afford??

You say that clubs would be responsible and wouldn't be so kamikaze with their cash, but didn't we all think that when Widnes went belly up after chasing the dream in the late 80's/early 90's??.....Similarly, Wigan's own glory years eventually cost them their ground and probably set them back 5-10 years, a similar story to my own club, Warrington, who tried in vain to keep up with the big boys and have spent years in the wilderness through poor financial management. Only now, with good management, have we been able to compete in the game and yet, even with Simon Moran's undoubted financial muscle, I would be against the removal of a salary limit, mainly beacsue I fear that ego and ambition might take over clear thinking.

I do believe though that a raising of the actual cap could be a benefit....Surely, thinking logically, as the cost of living goes up, then shouldn't a player's wages??.....It seems to me that the sport's cap has been enduring some sort of pay freeze which needs looking at?