When I saw Burgess play in the World Cup I thought that we could build a team around him that would be competitive with the Aussies. He's as good a player as anyone I have ever seen. With Burgess leading the side, better coaching and the other players benefitting from being in the NRL we could have had a chance to compete with the Aussies in a way that we haven't for decades (apart from a brief period in the early 90s). It was an exciting moment and all that has gone now. Losing Burgess is an absolutely massive blow to England and the international game.

How long before Sam Tomkins and others follow him to RU?

In the long term RL seems to have no future as an elite sport, certainly in this country and potentially now in Australia too. (At some point the ARU will get its house in order and then the raids on the NRL will really start.)

We had a chance with the advent of SL to boost the game to the point where it could have been more competitive with the NRL and RU. By improving clubs' financial health we could have made it far more of a gamble financially for players to leave British RL for RU or even the NRL and by forcing clubs to invest in player development we could have had a much more competitive England team and a better international scene to offer players to keep them in RL.

Repeated failures of vision and management have brought us to where we are now. I know there will be many reading this post who will not like me saying this, but the attitude of many RL fans that a level playing field is a good idea (especially if the level is Wakefield's rather than Wigan or Leeds') has also contributed to where we are now. These flat eathers have made it easier for the RL authorities to bring in crazy and counterproductive schemes (my "favourite" was the 20/20 rule - sheer madness, a bonkers rule that made the salary cap look sensible and well thought out).

Some people just seemed to want to restrict pay out of envy that the players should earn enormous salaries like 100k p.a. (peanuts in sporting terms, 2 or 3 days pay to Wayne Rooney). You know who you are.... hang your heads in shame...

So, I would say to all the people that have posted on this board over the years in support of the salary cap and the other failed structures that have wrecked the chances of RL to move forward in this country, I hope you are happy.

What did these people expect? Well, they've got what they wished for. I'm too sad now about the future of the game to be angry with these people any more, it's just too late now. Managed decline into a second rate future is the best we can hope for, but I suspect that's too optimistic. In the long term I think we are likely to see SL become more like the French domestic championship than what it is today. Happy days for the level playing field nutters

Wasn't aware of that. Unbelievable.

I think it's the best we can hope for. I think there's a real risk that the exciting kids won't bother coming into RL in the first place or will be snapped up as juniors by RU scouts.

Played in the Autumn internationals for England but was pretty quiet. Missing the Six Nations due to injury. Not sure he'll find it easy to get back in either as his replacement - Luther Burrell - has been playing well and scored I'm both matches so far.

The centres are going to be very congested over the next couple of years with ex-RL players, let alone thoroughbred RU players like Twelvetrees, Tuilagi and Burrell.

Players like Burgess and Tomkins were obviously offered 'fast track' England chances as an incentive to switch but there's only so many people you can offer that to. I'm not sure that will stop the current trend of defections though.

What the Burgess incident shows is that not even the NRL is a big enough draw to keep players in RL. I remember when Sam's exit from Wigan was first mooted some took comfort from the 'at least he's still in RL' argument but now it seems to be a countdown till the next star converts unless serious changes are made.

Dont panic people, the good Dr over @ Salford will have him back in RL in a jiffy!

I think the only saving factor is that Union is not as exciting to play as League. When I used to play Union in the Army, in some games, you hardly touched the ball!

Soooo then, in a sport where clubs already seem to be falling over themselves to go bankrupt..... How does removing the salary cap help retain our best talent?
I neither agree nor particularly disagree with it. But as a business manager myself, i fully appreciate that you simply cannot sustain direct cost increases without the necessary improved revenue streams required to fund it. Commercial suicide.
If even the NRL cant now compete with the filthy
Yawnion Dollar, then what chance has a far less cash-rich SL got?
I dont like it one bit - Especially losing quality RL developed talent to a far inferior sport.
But as with any business, the big 'uns will always trample over the little 'uns.
When RU was a part-time sport, we were one of the worst for poaching their top talent. For the time being the boot is very firmly on the other foot, and its our turn endure the headhunting.
Forget the cap, the RFL, Stevo etc etc... Commercially, where would all this extra cash magically appear from?
Not bland acceptance, just an acknowledgement of RL's current state of affairs.

Sorry, but the argument that we need the salary cap because things would be worse without it is false. The choice isn't between having the salary cap or having nothing.

We could have a system that encouraged and rewarded growth in income - then clubs would find ways of raising revenue. Money would not magically appear, it would be earned.

What we now have is a system that allows clubs to stagnate, offering no incentive for growth. In fact stagnation would be preferable to the situation we have now, which is one in which the SC has not been raised in line with inflation due to the financial issues at many clubs. RL players in England are at least 30% poorer in real terms on average than they were at the outset of the SC. This is an appalling record of financial failure. If it continues then the game will inevitably go back to being semi-pro.

Pretty much agree with that assessment.
Sustainable growth is what we all want for the game. Not the bang n bust 'Bradford' scenario.
The argument isnt really about the cap - Remove it tomorrow for me! Just so long as clubs live within their relative means, all good.
And to be fair i dont really see this mass exodus towards Yawnion being such a huge concern, cos it hasnt really happened. A few 'names' for sure, but not the doomsday scenario that has been predicted by some.
The NRL is still the real nightstalker in the house at the min!

What I would like to see in the SL with the new money coming in from SKY and being reduced to 12 teams is that EACH SL club gets £2 million and the salary cap raised to £2 million so that each club is on a level playing field from the onset. I know that the salary cap has been twiddled with to accommodate home grown players this is up to each club then to get their act together to provide more money for the players .Of course this being the RL this will not happen as the money will be diluted to championship 1 and 2 and amateur and grass roots .If it was not for the SL clubs there would not be any money so please RFL get this right IL was right the SL clubs should have a bigger say in the running of SL.

The thing is, who is going to want to watch a sport with average players not good enough for Superleague, over the hill Aussie and Kiwis and promising youngsters who inevitably will go to the NRL or Union for more cash?

With the standards dropped we lose sponsorship and money.

With the loss of sponsorship and money from the crowds dropping we can't pay the players what they deserve so back to point 1.

A financial backer may come in to Superleague ala Koukash, Branson, Moran and want to splash the cash and buy some top players but the salary cap stands in the way so back to point 1 and the financial backers stay away.

Its a vicious circle that needs to stop otherwise its a slippery slope to the bottom, all we ask is the cap is scrapped as it stands now and the only factor in wages is whether you can afford it, maybe just increase the cap to £3,000,000 if the club can afford it.

The new sky money basically pays the players their wages and all clubs could spend up to the cap, all that will do is make clubs lazy in marketing, clubs need to opportunity to grow financially and commercially.

I'm not too sure about a song and dance really, unless they have done exceptionally well in RU. Heralding the return of a RU convert failure to me smacks of desperation and is yet another nail in the proverbial RL coffin.

Best thing RL can do if JT/KE came back is to announce it, say all the usual "Quality player with a good attitude" drivel then shut up about it.

Correct

And what is happening now is not a result of any announcements or strategies that the RFL have made in the last 12 months, it's a result of previous strategies etc. over the past 12 years that's created this situation.

They then want to hide behind what they're doing now when it's far too late IMO.

I'm Surpised DeanoG et al aren't on here saying I told you so?

IMO the salary cap (although great in its intentions) provided the RFL with the perfect excuse to sit back and say "Well all the clubs are self sufficient so we must be doing something right" and instead of going out there generating more revenue streams, increasing it's profile and pushing itself to the forefront of Sports sponsorship they hid behind "Gimmicks" and "Innovative" ideas thinking that would increase the interest in our game.

When they realised that it wouldn't stop clubs going Bust we've had the blame game followed by more tinkering with the game and it's competition structure.

The World Cup has given the game over here a much needed boost short term but I again think it's given the RFL the excuse to Big up the game short term and although there seems to be some long term strategy with the TV deal there are many question marks over the Merits of both the Term of the deal and the income and if we could have done better.

I'm long over getting wound up by the situation as what will be will be but my Main point is all those that told us Everything was fine 10/5/2 years ago are pretty much the same people telling us everything's alright now.

If you didnt believe it then I'm not sure why we should believe much has changed now?

The one thing wrong with the RFL is Nigel Wood. The sooner he is shot of the better for UK Rugby League.

I meant use the occasion to illustrate that Union does not have streets paved with gold for everyone.

Loath though I am to say this - and I never wanted to sink to the levels of RU in its Shamateurism days - but I think we should now be on a war-footing with RU.

There's no point us pretending that all is good and fine between us and them. It isn't. We get nothing of value from them - Powell being a case in point - and they have the potential to take everything of value from us. The first casualty of this should be Andy Farrell, who can surely no longer be invited into RL's inner circles. He was once a favourite son, but he's clearly indicated that this means nothing to him.

However, I do take your overall point. Sometimes it's better to behave with dignity. Especially, I suppose, when you've got no real choice.