To be honest yes. I'd rather all our player play in super league.

Isn't that just common sense?

Clubs can only produce so much youth.

I'll use the Graham as example.

Say next year saints replace Graham with gaz frodsham and eastmond with lomax. We lose most of our games and frodsham and lomax are woefull. The fans will then be on the clubs back saying we ain't replacing quality players with quality players.

What I'm saying, clubs feel unde pressure go replace big names with quality players. I know for a fact we've no good young prop to replace Graham. We will go to the NRL.

So in effect we will lose a top quality ENGLISH player and replace him with a 29/30 yr old Aussie.

Too a point i agree, and getting a young aussie who blossoms can be a problem too, as with Pat. The key is VERY good recruitment, and a little bit of luck, Carmont for example. For me i would rather we were looking at NZ's and islanders than Aussies. BTW i am gutted that Graham is going, wears his heart on sleeve when playing. I for one wish him all the best.

I'm another one who finds it difficult to celebrate the drain of talent from the Super League.

While I accept that it will make those players who leave better in the long run - though we've yet to see much evidence of this in international fixtures - our domestic game, which is more important than our international game at present (as the Aussies aren't interested in the latter), will be the ultimate loser.

There's something else we should stop kidding ourselves about. As far as many in the NRL are concerned, the ESL might as well be a different sport. They certainly don't look upon us as a partner or even a little brother. As far as many over there are concerned, we don't even exist - except as an occasional provider of talent now that their new financial arrangements allow them to spend more money. Thus, the NRL will continue to get stronger as it floods its ranks with British talent as well as home-grown talent, while our game - which insists on clinging to its outdated salary cap rules - will continue to dwindle domestically.

Is it not bad enough that every year at least one of our promising young backs is pinched by Rugby Union - you know, that problem that was never even going to arise according to the pro-cappers! - without us starting losing our best forwards to Australia?

We need to weigh up the pros and cons of this and finally get real. The domestic game will be a lot worse off if we keep losing the likes of Eastmond, Graham etc. How long before Roby and the Tomkins brothers get targeted? And what will the response be from SL sides if they keep losing this level of home-grown talent, apart from yet again being forced to dip into the ranks of NRL has-beens? It's a very poor trade-off, to be frank. And for what ... for the possible creation some time in the distant future of an England first-team which, probably quite briefly, will be able to compete with the Australians? (The last time we were able to do that was in the early 90s, when there was no salary cap and some of the best players in the world were at British RL clubs).

Are we now to become a seed-bed of talent for both Rugby Union and the NRL? Never seeing the benefit of it ourselves?

Why should clubs like Wigan and Saints, who produce lots of good kids, even bother? Why don't they just buy mercenaries all the time?

I'm afraid the problem here is still the lack of cash available in the British game. Like it or loathe it, we desperately need to find a way to put more money in the pockets of our marquee players, to encourage them to stick around a bit longer.

Spot on cruncher. Thats exactly what I'm trying to say but you put it across so much better.

Don't think that you will find many who would disagree with this.

Not only has Super League lost a great player, we've also lost a fiery love-to-hate character who has always added entertainment to any big fixture.

I suppose the only consolation is that he isn't going to Union.

This should start with a sell-out for the Exiles game and a 60k plus attendance for the Wembley Four Nations match unfortunately your average RL fans is too busy moaning about losing players for one club game to the Exiles team or generally bad-mouthing all and everything the RFL does.

The game has no chance of growing its revenue streams when the people who should be its strongest allies are more often than not to be found sniping away at the game themselves.

Correct me if I'm wrong with these figures

Salary cap rough guess

Superleague 1.7 mill

Nrl gone up to 2.7 mill

Rugbyunion 4 mill

How can we compete with them figures , RFL need act , I'm not saying bang the cap up so teams can start buying this world class player and that player but we need some thing to protect our home grown talent

Great post. The cap, although evened up the Super League has in affect 'dumbed it down'. The whole idea was to stop clubs getting into financial difficulties by preventing them from spending too much on players. This hasn't worked though has it, look at Wakefield etc.

I think the fact that the RFL dont allow sponsorships etc doesnt help them.

If Sam tomkins was asked to do an advert for something then it would bring 2 great things to RL

1. He would get more money making him more likely to stay here in the long run.
2. RL players would be getting the exposure needed to help the sport progress.

I think its stupid that if a RL player does an advert or gets given a sponsored car or whatever then it counts on the cap. Its ludicrous all that should count on the cap is what the actual team pays directly to the player.
It wouldnt be hard to police to make sure that the team didnt arrange it so that they didnt have to pay the player as much on the cap.

I think Graham going the NRL is only good for SL in the way that Saints will be weaker helping everyone else and I may want that from a Wigan perspective but when you really think about it you dont want it really you want the best British players to be playing at British teams.

Something really needs to be done about this in all honesty. We have lost the best Prop in the Super League and potentially the best half back in Kyle Eastmond to Rugby Union. The Salary Cap has to be raised to at least the NRL 2.7 Million so that no other club has to go through losing there "home grown" players at a alarming rate. The product of Super League will be going downhill alarmingly if this is allowed to continue. I am not whinning because Saints of lost an exceptional front rower and a up and coming half back but I want to see Super League at its best across the board.