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Will Chambers (Melb) scores the 1st try NRL - 2009 Preliminary Finals Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Saturday 26 September 2009 © Sport the library/Jeff Crow ©Action Photographics
Melbourne Storm have cheated the rules. End of story. But the big picture is really that they have been the victim of a rule that has simply not done what it set out to do, but instead now promotes mediocrity in a club environment.
Over the last decade or so, Melbourne Storm have created what can only be described as a great modern day sporting team. True monoliths of the game, in ability, in athleticism, and in professionalism. Yet here is this club, which has developed itself into the forerunner of the modern game, forced to disband itself over the years because, quite frankly, they’re too successful.
The salary cap was designed for two primary reasons: to prevent clubs spending money they couldn’t afford, and to prevent the rich clubs dominating the competition by buying up all the talent. Have Storm done either of these things? No!
Melbourne Storm – through astute development and coaching – have created a team of champions. The key word here being ‘created’. They didn’t go out and pilfer talent from other clubs; nor have they placed themselves into a position they cannot afford (and with third party deals now the norm, few would). Herein lies the flaw in the current Salary Cap system.
Does the current system reward clubs who develop great players? No – it says “well done, you’ve made your players so good they deserve a pay rise. What’s that? You can’t do that under the cap; oh well, too bad, so sad, farm them off to a club who can.” The end result is a bunch of clubs with a few good players and a lot well below the bar.
Why shouldn’t a club who signs a young, potentially talented youngster, and through great coaching and nurturing turns the player into an Origin star, be allowed to retain them and pay them whatever they like. Instead, they’re forced to let them go to fit others in under the cap, thereby gifting another team a great player they have had no hand in developing. Where is the reward there for running a professional organisation with great coaching staff? This system doesn’t reward such practices, it punishes such by forcing clubs to do all the hard work before ripping the heart out of them.
I believe the salary cap should be premised on the buying of players from another club. If a club develops their own, for example, Greg Inglis, good for them; but if they want to ‘buy’ a Thurston from the Cowboys, then there needs be a limit they can offer that player to ensure the rich clubs can’t bully the poorer clubs. If Thurston is prepared to swap clubs for the capped amount, bides his time with that one club for a number of years, benefits from their development of him as a player and turns in great performances week in, week out, in return, then he can be allowed to take a bigger pay packet from them.
The result: an environment that encourages professionalism and good coaching, not mediocrity. How many other businesses would be prepared to spend millions of dollars training their employees only to be forced to make them go and work elsewhere? The whole notion is ludicrous in the real world.
I’m not sticking up for Melbourne Storm – they broke the current rules; but I am saying the current rules are wrong!
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