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Mark Robinson wrote a piece this week attacking Eddie McGuire’s continued criticism of the AFL’s cost of living allowance.
Robbo’s main point in the piece was why Eddie continues to make a point about this allowance, while also unbalancing the competition through his television show The Recruit.
The point to be discussed here is the allowance idea itself. It defies belief that a sporting body would allow for their clubs to have a 10 per cent advantage over other participants in the competition.
The idea of the allowance itself is one with the best of intentions. It is much more expensive to live in Sydney and possibly for young men, help may be required to meet a few of the expenses.
But this help should be a responsibility of the club to deal with, not the governing body.
The fascinating thing about the argument that Eddie puts forward is that he has never used NRL clubs situations to showcase why the allowance is so absurd.
In Sydney there are 10 NRL clubs. These clubs have first-grade playing rosters of up to 25-30 players, as well as junior squads of around the same size. The players come from far and wide, including England and the Pacific nations. Yet to my knowledge, there is no provision for a living away from home allowance in the NRL salary cap.
This means there are teenagers and men out there on far less money then their AFL counterparts, and yet they still manage to deal with the expenses associated with living in Sydney.
Eddie may go over the top with his criticism, however the point remains – there are clubs gaining advantage from an allowance that although having the best of intentions, is now being used to fill AFL rosters with the best talent available.
Maybe, just maybe, Eddie has a point.
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