That's nothing to do with the quota or where he trained.

But that's possibly down to the more strict visa process now and his less than clean off-field record.

I think that would have been the simplest way out of this situation.
My own take on this is that at some point last year the RFL gave rovers an assurance (either verbal or written) that Galea would not count as a quota player because of his new maltese passport. At this point rovers went ahead and signed Mason. With the delay to Galea's passport, rovers have gone back to Red Hall to clarify the situation.
Realising they'd painted themselves into a corner, the RFL have taken their usual action by fudging the issue and have made a mountain out of a molehill. I can't believe they would allow themselves to be bullied by Hudgell. Not even the RFL are that weak-kneed, are they?

I'm amazed that there is so much fuss over hull kr cheating again. they've been doing it since I started watching the game and probably were a long time before that. It's in their blood

Why should galea get a bridging visa? What if his passport doesn't turn up?

To save face and as an alternative to all Islanders (and maybe EU passport holders?) qualifying as fed-trained even if they arrive now or in the future. They've chosen to bin their rules rather than fudge them, when that alternative existed - that is curious and has some dramatic implications for SL. In theory at least - when the NRL gets more TV money, that'll change things again and maybe more profoundly.

So what if all the clubs put applications for bridging dispensation? What they should have said is no, not until Galeas passport comes through.

When the NRL's salary cap and league grows ageing players will still come to sl for a easier time and so will the poorer players who can't get contracts in the nrl.

An explaination of the different classifications just for Scott, Im sure you understand homegrown and quota so I'll explain non fed vs fed trained:

Non Fed - A player who has not spent 3 years training at a UK club before reaching the age of 21
Fed Trained - A player who has spent 3 years training at a UK club before reaching the age of 21

There is an excemption to this ruling (The Gene ruling) whereas if you were signed up for a UK club pre Feb 2008, you could apply in the last year of your current contract to become classed as a Fed Trained player as long as you wasn't classed as a quota player.

Mason falls into the non fed catogory and is not elidgable for excemption so unless Rovers have invented a new way of getting a player classed as a fed trained player(like they did with Gene), he should be always classed as a non fed player regardless of passport.

Perhaps HKR have managed to register the Toronto Scorpions as a UK club? That would do it!

Are you still sticking by your "eventually it will resolve itself as Galea/Vella retire" mantra or has that been abandoned now? I did say a while back that those teams with a genuine commitment to the long game, developing youth and acquiring British players, are in fact being penalised by others not bothering and seeking dispensations after the event. Take Westerman. We played the long game there in anticipation of him being at a premium, naively believing that quotas would actually come down, and it cost us a big fee. In hindsight, would we have signed him with only 2 quota players at the club and the possibility of getting a South Seas Island prop instead?

Let's face it hkr will probably lose 4 of their overseas stars after this year but now they've had another rule change they'll sign some more, as will others.

And a excellent point mrs b