rlhttp://www.skysports.com/rugby-leaguerl

Hugely important for the future of the game this, but will probably be rejected by the smaller clubs with no ambition.

Thoughts?

Didn't IL vote against raising the cap previously? What change things when we get to the GF every year?

Well if he did then he needs to start thinking of the bigger picture, as do all the other clubs.

Agreed.

The RFL need to show some leadership and raise it for the good of the game regardless of what the individual clubs want.

Wigan, Hull FC and Leeds - Have the money to spend, but are already at/near the top, so why pay more to be in the same position?
Castleford, Wakefield, Leigh, Huddersfield and Widnes - Probably don't have the money to spend, so a cap increase would see them in a worse position.
St Helens and Warrington - Have the money to spend, aren't doing well currently but are usually near the top. Could vote either way
Salford, Catalans - Have the money to spend, and aren't doing well currently. Would probably vote for an increase

At best I think the vote will be 8-4 against raising the cap.

Rather than just raise the cap per se , which will probably just bring in more average overseas players, I would increase the salary allowance for players brought through a clubs academy systems. In other words encourage clubs to develop their own. As an example Tom Johnstone at Wakefield could be exempt or have a low salary cap "value" as long as he stars there.

I see where you are coming from but that wouldn't be as effective at keeping the best players in SL IMO. Given your Johnstone example - he would be knackered because Wakefield wouldn't have the funds to pay him big money anyway, and the other SL clubs wouldn’t have the option of signing him for big money because he didn’t come through their academy, so off he goes to the NRL/RU. With a higher cap at least he would get poached by Saints, Warrington etc and stay in SL.

We will see who has ambition if not then kick them out of SL if a team with ambition comes forward.

Basically get Toronto into SL asap regardless if they deserve it or not. They have an ambition and can pay for it. Bigger SL clubs need to start looking after themselves as the poorer sides have been killing RL for 10 years.

Going off Lenagans comments over the years we'll probably vote against it.

We do probably need to be careful what we wish for. Our policy of producing talent and letting them then spread their wings in the hope that they come back won't be as successful if Warrington, Hull and Salford can just go out and snap up all the best English talent as well as the best available players from overseas.

If Lenagan would move with any change and start fighting harder to keep our talent then I'd be all for it. His current policy has been proven to be a very good one but I'm not convinced it'll work of the salary cap is raised by any significant amount.

I'd love to know what the actual question they are voting on is.

If it's a completely binary thing - i.e. - do we raise it or do we lower it - we can expect no progress. That enables the tail to just keep wagging the dog, and as others have said, certain of the game's leading clubs may feel they have no need to vote for it either.

What we need instead is a package of proposals designed to try to keep our brightest and best in the domestic game. A start would be some kind of salary cap dispensation for home-grown talent, which would mean the likes of Johnstone can stay at Wakey. Central top-up funding for our marquee players who stay in British RL woudl also help. And how about a discount on RU signings?, allowing us to start cherry-picking from them again - not necessarily their big stars, who we all know are enjoying massively over-inflated salaries, but some their mid-rankers who might find real stardom with us: the likes of George Fairbairn, David Willicombe, Mark Preston etc.

Unless we can raise to equal the NRL cap which we never will, I don't see how raising the cap will retain anybody. We'll still have the same pool of players in SLand still won't be able to compete with the NRL or RU. It will just mean a slight pay rise for the current crop!

spot on, for us to be able to compete with the NRL or RU then we need a radical change to the current system, rewarding clubs for producing players through the academy still doesn't work as ultimately if we do produce the occasional star player he gets snapped up anyway. To stop players going to the NRL we should only select players for England who actually play in the super league and should over look the ones playing in Australia/NZ. It might sound like cutting your nose off to spite your face but if players want to play for England then this is a sacrifice they must make.

we need a proper tv deal, its how they are funded

My club (Tigers) would probably vote against an increase of the cap but can hardly be described as a club with no ambition. It boils down to a simple formula - we pay for what we can afford. The game is not awash with clubs like Wigan and Leeds and millionaires like Koucash and Moran or would you like to play each other 6 times each per season and us "smaller clubs" can do one.

Ambition of not measured on the size of your wallet.