The NRL introduced the Salary Cap in 1990, and whilst it has kept the majority of teams on a level playing field, its introduction to Australian Rugby League has unfortunately seen it bring out the worst in most clubs.
NRL Chief Executive David Gallop has ensured time and again the Salary Cap was put in place to ensure an even and unpredictable competition on a yearly basis.
Counting on the evidence of the past nine seasons, Gallop would be mightily pleased with the Cap’s influence on the NRL, with eight different sides winning the Telstra Premiership between 2001 and 2009.
On the other side of the coin, however, the Cap has transformed the NRL into one of the few competitions in the world where successful teams are forced to pay for their on field achievements.
In 1991, The Canberra Raider were the first superstar outfit to feel the cruel nature of the Salary Cap, after stamping themselves as one of Rugby League’s finest ever outfits in the 1990’s.
After making back to back Grand Finals in 1990-91, the Green Machine found themselves embroiled in Rugby League’s first genuine Cap scandal which saw the club fined $100,000 and ordered to pay $85,000 in unpaid salary from 1990.
The fallout from the Salary Cap scandal saw several key stars depart the club, among them duel Premiership winner Glenn Lazarus.
Despite winning the Premiership in 1994, the Raiders have coincidently never risen to the heights of their predecessors since the scandal broke, and are constantly one of the sides tipped to win the wooden spoon.
The all conquering 2002 Canterbury Bulldogs side, which went on a 17 match winning streak, also fell victim to the Salary Cap, after the club was found to have committed serious and systematic breaches totalling $920,000.
The result saw Steve Folkes’ men imposed with what had been the biggest punishment imposed by the NRL on a club for cheating the Cap.
As is testament to the Bulldogs character however, the team managed to bounce back two seasons later, securing a premiership victory against the Sydney Roosters to round off a terrible period on a high note.
Although not as severe a punishment as the Bulldogs received eight years ago, the New Zealand Warriors were still left to rue what could have been at the end of the 2006 season, after the club was deducted four competition points at the start of the year for committing major breaches to the Cap in 2005.
The penalty cost the Warriors a position in the top eight, after the New Zealand outfit went on to win eight of their final twelve matches to finish four points short of a finals birth.
Over the past twenty years, clubs such as the Sydney Roosters, Wests Tigers, Newcastle Knights, Cronulla Sharks, Brisbane Broncos, St George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers, South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Gold Coast Titans have also copped substantial fines for minor indiscretions against the Salary Cap.
And now, the NRL salary cap, (which on average, pays each player $180,000 per year) has forced the Melbourne Storm to run a well-organised dual contract system which made $1.7 million of payments to players outside of the $4.2 million salary cap.
It was a scam which has cost the Storm its rich history, dignity and pride in what was arguably the club’s greatest era on the field.
Despite all the troubles NRL clubs have experienced with the Salary Cap, Chief Executive David Gallop and Cap Auditor Ian Shubert will ensure it remains apart of Australian Rugby League for many years to come.
Sadly, it seems the same cannot be said for the Storm.
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