James Roberts to become a Bronco in 2016

You might need to watch some tape. Roberts was dominated by Reed in both encounters this year. The reason he gets burned on the outside occasionally is because he's babysitting Milford on his inside. He can't allow guys like Fergo, Walker, etc to step back inside and take on Milford.

The NSWRL didn't force them to cut all ties to the area. The Raiders chucked a tizzie and said they weren't going to bother developing talent from Souths Logan when they all get poached by rival clubs. All being Milford. Brisbane (and every other team for that matter) would've been mad not to move straight in considering the quality of players to come from there.

Thats all you have to say when once again proven wrong? Interesting.

Sigh. Then it's not a "market" value, because the market has not set it.

I think I can actually hear the odds of a Brisbane premiership this year shortening...what a purchase for an already outstanding roster!

Ej there were some articles about how the roosters, broncos and cowboys were stuffed because next year they had lots of players coming off contract. So it is probably prudent to save caps pace rather than pay overs at the back end of the free agent pool. Also these situations seem to happen every year, retaining the option to be one of (if your going to need space next year) seems to be far better management than getting in a bidding war for scraps

I think it is more that US fans get the joke that a cap isn't about parity it's about wage constraint. Even then most big market teams now realise that the barriers to exposure that existed previously (limited internet/TV coverage) have largely gone away.

TWAS, that is not true at all. The NRL do actually set the market value on these players. It is why they didn't register the Folau $100k contract with the Eels (which I'm sure they regret now). They have the final say. It stops teams warehousing talent, if they have Third Parties willing to stump up 90% of the contract. And thus you have a hugely talented team only taking up a fraction of the cap. The cap has absolutely no bearing on determining a players market value. Just because Roberts is looking to sign in December does not make him any less valuable in the eyes of the NRL. As I have pointed out to you before if Greg Inglis agreed to terms with South Sydney to play for $50k, the NRL would not register his contract. Even if there were 30 fullbacks available on the free market. We see this each and every year. The trouble is the NRL are inconsistent with their rulings. And that is what Muzz is getting at. On the one hand they allowed Mark Gasnier to sign with the Dragons on $50k. But not Folau with the Eels on $100k. Manly went to the NRL prior to talks with Glenn Stewart saying they only had so much to pay him. The NRL set a market value, Manly couldn't match it, and in the end they didn't even table an offer for Gifty (a poor decision in the end by management, but they felt their hands were tied).

Muz do you understand the term market value? Because the NRL cannot define a market value. The market value is what the market is willing to pay and is influenced by a number of factors. For instance, Roberts' market value in December is less than it is in July because in December there is less cap space available. Year to year it changes. If there's a number of centres available he's worth less than if they are scarce.

can't forget Blake Ferguson running over the top of Reed to score twice in the semi. Qld must have wondered why he wasn't in Origin...but that's another article. Sigh.

Scott - The rule will not go because they still believe in the superleague model, They want less Sydney teams but they know that politically and possibly legally it is very difficult to achieve. So they hope they can get their via financial Darwinism,hence the TPA.I think this is crazy for a number of reasons (for eg you might not end up losing the clubs you hope to lose, back in the early nineties both South Sydney and Easts looked like dead men walking , now they are glamour clubs, things can change)) Also some of the financial basket cases are not Sydney clubs and other than Brisbane TPA disadvantages non Sydney clubs. Secondly I fail to see how contraction, NRL clubs withering on the vine can possibly benefit the League.Thirdly the evolutionary process could take decades,Clubs will not go broke quickly, they will just stay within budget and run around substandard teams,

EYE To the credit of the NRL, they appointed the very astute Mark Evans, the former Storm CEO, to a short term consultancy position to sort out this mess. We have to be able to attract and maintain our best players but also ensure we have a level playing field. It is a hard one, but I expect we will see some changes in 2016 for the better. It is a major issue as supporters who follow teams like Wests Tigers and the Titans have already thrown in the towel before kick off in round 1 and that is not good for the wider game.

Fans of many NRL teams must be questioning why they bother investing their souls in a team that is not playing on a level playing field. Broncos should win every second year with their TPA and FTA advantages. The best players in other teams have behaviour problems and inevitably end up in Bondi - what a punishment. What is Sam Burgess really being paid? TPA's need to be limited to $200k and be for the top 8 players. The TPA's need to be audited, reported and limited so that teams without a possible million fans can and multi-millionaire owners can attract good players. If the problem of talent in the clubs wasn't so uneven, the way they get treated by the refs and other officials will ensure the lowly teams stay down the bottom of the table. Just watch how many times a mere brush of the ball is called a try to the Roosters, whereas a lengthy forensic examination is needed to ensure my lowly team didn't make a mistake somewhere.

People don't believe he's going there for less moolah do they. Yes, the number reported to the NRL and ATO is always smaller with this team, but there's no way they don't get other benefits. I'm surprised they want Roberts, he's fast but hopeless in Defence, not really a Bennett type of player.

Merry Xmas to you too,Scott.. I've seen Milford and Hunt fall off more than the odd tackle as well,but you'd still put them in,,but I agree with the rest.. As for the Copley chat,really doubt he would make any NRL team stronger,he's a bigger klutz than Shaun Kenny Dowall.. True value trade would be someone like Gillet..now that would be fair(er)..

Lets give credit to the Broncos for being smart enough to exploit the rule. Lockyer was only in the cap for around 275K. Most clubs dont have the corporates to take advantage of a TPA which is why the rule should go.

Agree Muzz. The NRL should publish the TPA's $$$ for each club. The stink may then be reduced to an unpleasant odour. I reckon ten of the sixteen clubs would see why they have little chance of winning a premiership or even making the eight.

What's the point of having a salary cap if Roberts has signed for 250k? His market value, not including what he can earn outside of the cap is minimum 500k a year. The NRL should not register his contract unless he's taking up 500k from the Broncos salary cap. If he can earn more via a TPA then good luck to him. If my boss asked me to take a pay cut cause i'm earning a little on the side, i'd laugh at him. A players market value should not include their TPA. He's left a struggling club that needs him and are prepared to up his salary and moved to a club that made the GF and almost won it for less money. It stinks bro!

Merry Xmas Eye Mate the Broncos scored an avg. of 4.2 tries in every game in 2015. It is almost impossible to improve on that, it does not get much better. My point being, Roberts is in the side to create and score tries which I am sure he will do, but that positive impact can be negated if he is poor in defence which he has shown he can be. The major bonus for the Broncos is that they have got Roberts for a "steal". If somehow they can put him in their cap for 250k then they have done brilliantly well. They now have 3 potential $1m players all in the cap for about 33% of their real value. The Broncos biggest challenge is to get the best out of big Sam again as he is outstanding when hot but can be on and off and he needs to get "up" again for another big year and I am not sure he can. Also, it is hard to follow Roberts around from Souths to Pen to Titans and hear the feed back that he is not a good team man. Those things rarely change. One last thing. The Broncos will be playing in the UK before the season and no team has ever done that and come back and won the P'ship this century.

Steve's got a point though... They aren't big names on big money. You can't suggest those three players freed up enough money to sign Roberts.