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The Roar

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It'll be a big week in the NRL for...

20th February, 2018
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(AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Expert
20th February, 2018
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We have a couple of important milestones in the history of the NRL being approached right now – or not.

On one hand, the clubs are hedging their bets about releasing players for the Test in Denver on June 23 (I’m not going to call it ‘proposed’ because allegedly the participation agreements have already been signed).

And on the other, the NRL is – quite impressively – talking to clubs about publishing the amount each club spends on third-party agreements.

Let’s start with the second issue first – because if you read this column every week, you’ll expect me to be frothing at the mouth at the first one.

The salary cap is there to even up the competition. Third-party agreements work in the other direction. They clearly favour clubs in more prosperous areas and basically make the competition uneven.

For some fans, that’s OK. I know there are plenty of readers out there who prefer survival of the fittest.

But if we have two mechanisms working against each other and we know exactly how one of them works, then surely it is only fair and equitable that we know how the other works too.

We are being told reasons why the NRL is even, but the reasons why it is not are being hidden from us.

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So, regardless of where you stand on the salary cap, knowing how much each club spends on third-party agreements should add to your appreciation of the competition’s dynamics.

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know how het up I am about the Denver Test.

I see it as being tantamount to sporting treason to not release England and New Zealand players for a sanctioned Test on a weekend when there are no club games, while happily allowing 34 Origin players to take part in a game in Australia and maybe 50 more to go to Campbelltown.

But actually, I found Todd Greenberg’s letter to the NZRL, copied to all clubs, somewhat reasonable.

Todd Greenberg has to fix the NRL.

John Paul Basile – promoter Jason Moore’s offsider – says it took years to for Moore to convince Major League Baseball sides to come to Sydney.

Attitudes in professional sports are ingrained and take time to break down.

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But – sorry, the zealot in me can’t help it – in 2010, Sam Burgess missed a game against the Broncos to return to England and play against France. Jeez, we’ve gone backwards since then, right?

Anyway, I am happy the game looks like it’s on. The Kiwis have to raise a team. The Poms have to raise a team. Players who aren’t released will be unhappy and will probably get their way next time.

Like John Paul says, we’ll get there eventually.

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