Following Tim Gore’s excellent piece on the Raiders, I thought I’d weigh in on the state of affairs in the NRL.
The salary cap system is a complete joke. When originally introduced the idea was to create an even playing field among teams. This was supposed to stop rich teams running roughshod over smaller, less financially flush teams.
We often talk about the movement of players between clubs as a player ‘market’, like there is a close relationship with basic economics when clubs are looking to purchase or retain a player.
If were talking economics we must remember the wise words of brilliant economist Frederic Bastiat – look at “what is seen and what is not seen”.
The published figures on what the salary cap is set at was the only part of the market that was seen, until recent years.
The third party agreements make a complete mockery of having a cap in the first place. It would be dumb to restrict money flowing into the game, but allowing huge cash injections into player contracts which are completely ignored by the cap is mind boggling.
I remember David Gallop bleating about growing grass roots rugby league. What has the NRL done in the last decade for the grass roots?
The reality is, the clubs hold the key to junior development in Australia. Giving incentives to the clubs is the best way to grow the base. But the salary cap is working counter to the clubs that develop the junior talent, allowing the rich clubs to poach.
This was the previously ‘unseen’ part when the salary cap was introduced, but is certainly front and centre for a number of clubs now.
What does a club like the Roosters have to do for the base? All they have to do to win a premiership is organise the best third-party deals to gain the strongest roster while remaining under the cap.
We are constantly hearing about how Sydney-centric the NRL is, and how the AFL is killing the NRL in terms of being a truly national competition. What better way to expand the game and grow the base than to give advantages to clubs that produce the talent?
Clubs that fail to go full tilt at their juniors will eventually be forced to relocate to under-represented areas or fold.
A phasing in of a salary cap discount could start as early as next year.
Juniors that sign their first NRL contracts with the club that nurtured them could see five per cent of their contract discounted from the club’s salary cap. For every year they remain loyal to their original club, a further five per cent discount will be applied to their contracts.
Players who switch clubs from their junior bases would begin to see a loyalty bonus applied to their contract after they have served three years with their new club. So a player like Darren Lockyer would have seen only half his contract being held against the Broncos after 10 years of service.
Similarly, Johnathan Thurston, who switched from Canterbury to North Queensland in 2005, would start receiving his first five per cent loyalty discount in the 2008 season and be currently sitting on a thirty-five per cent discount.
All third party agreements would have to be counted against the clubs caps.
Never again would we have to see situations like Mathew Johns, Petero Civoniceva, Glenn Stewart and Steve Menzies leaving their long-term clubs.
The NRL doesn’t need marquee player and third party boondoggles, they just need to start rewarding loyalty.
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