The figures some people throw about like £200k as a UK SL salary make me laugh. If the Ginger Whinger was paid £200k by Saints that would leave the average salary for the remaining 24 players at Saints being £60k. Given that several other players would want to be on similar money and all salaries would have to be relative to the top earners my assumption that the very top salaries in SL are not going to be any greater than £130k to £150k. As it is the Salary Cap average, if a team spends to the maximum allowed under the cap (many don't) then it is only £66k per player!

It was reported that Shenton had gone to Saints for around £130K - £140K a year.

Swings and roundabouts... the current exchange rate between the two currencies is creating the conditions for some of our top players to deem it financially worthwhile to take up an offer from an NRL club. They aren't going to be offered huge amounts in Aus dollars but an offer of $200K 3 or 4 years ago would have translated into about £70k a season... it'll translate into £125K a season these days.

On the flip side, the quality of NRL player prepared to shift to a Super League club will be reduced, hence the signings Leeds have made for next season.

That would stack up for me and put him up their with a small group of the top paid Saints players, the rest of the squad will be on a spread from £25k to £30k at the bottom to the top earners.

Of course I can't prove it's true (nor can you prove that it isn't by the way, but then I wouldn't be daft enough to ask you to).

Penrith won't be in the business of handing SL size salaries to reserve grade players. I'm happy in my assumption that Worrincey will be on buttons over there, thanks.

Then again, I doubt he was on megabucks over here.

Just a general point, but plenty of people in their 20s don't feel the need to earn to their potential, preferring instead to take advantage of opportunities that are perhaps more challenging and stimulating. Why should sportsmen be any different?

Shorter period where they are at their maximum earning potential and the need to build up a nest egg given their earnings are likely to decline sharply when they retire?

That's no doubt true for some. However, I'd imagine that others set their sights slightly higher for the period after they've retired from the game - or, conversely, don't give it a second thought.

Unless you have some sort of high level qualifications to fall back on, very few players are going to be able to match their on-field earnings from "civilian" jobs IMO. Only a handful will end up in the media, maybe a few more moving into coaching which tends to pay less than being a player.

I'm struggling to think of too many "where are they now" type cases of recently retired RL players moving into high earning careers.

I'm sure you're right in the majority of cases. However, my original point (which admittedly I've strayed away from) was that plenty of 20-30 year olds do make life choices that are based on many different considerations - many of which aren't purely financial.

On a slightly different note, I'd bet that Gary Hetherington makes more money now than he ever did when playing no. 9

When were there 3 Aus$ to the £?

Certainly never since there has been a salary cap in place.

In 1999 the exchange rate was about AUS$2.50 to the £. It was great for us tourists.

James Graham has nothing to prove in terms of his ability or commitment to the game. He is world class now. That he is being tempted by the lifestyle over there is no surprise. St Helens really cannot compare. But he has expressed reservations based upon his lifelong friendships here and his family. If those things matter to a person then moving 12,000 miles away to what is a very different culture is no easy decision to make, regardless of potential salary or lifestyle possibilities.

As for McManus speaking out: I fully agree with him and I fully agree with the poster who says that if it had been Hetherington waiting for two of his most talented home grown club investments to make up their minds about leaving for the NRL then I am very sure he would have said something too. England cannot compete with Australia in terms of lifestyle but the RFL and clubs can do something about the standard of play within the Superleague and the opportunities afforded to English grown players within it in order to make staying within our competition as attractive as possible to its most talented players.

Who did Laurie Daley play for in the UK (apart from the touring Kangaroos obviously) ?

IIRC Lewis and Sterling only played over here during ARL off-season stints before later injuries prevented them making potential full-time switches at Wigan and Leeds respectively.

Subtle. I remember him being in the Northstand, but can't remember who we were playing????

Link please. Or was it just hearsay? I havent been here long, but ive called you out on another couple of things you have claimed, only for you to backtrack and then ignore my requests for names of these people you claim to know.

I have come to the conclusion that you are nothing but a wind up merchant on these boards who posts things without anything to justify what you say, so forgive me if I take every single thing you say with a pinch of salt.

Back on topic. Mcmanus is just trying to protect his assets, but come on, you cant blame James Graham or anyone for that matter to want to play in the NRL.

[url=http://www.financialadvisory.com/article/02-03-2010/the-australian-dollar-(aud)-continues-to-dominate-the-british-pound-sterling-(gbp)/There were 3 Aussie dollars to the pound.[/url Not exactly sure when but I'd hazard a guess at around 5 years ago.



How long has the salary cap been in place?

Then take it for what it is and stop comparing it to the NRL. Super League RL is a challenging and entertaining sport. OK it'll never be as good as the NRL but then again a Mercedes S class will never be as good as a Rolls Royce - still doesn't stop it being a great car.

Good point well made. I cannot say I am particulary bothered if SL isn't as good as NRL.

There is the potential in the next 12 months for the Aussie salary cap to be significantly increased. Perhaps as high as 10 million dollars a season, roughly equivalent to 6 million pounds.

This is more likely to happen if the NRL gets its hoped for, billion dollar TV contract.

In such a scenario, player salaries will vastly eclipse those in the UK, making the NRL all but irresistable to the best British RL players.

More like 9 years ago: [urlhttp://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=AUD&view=10Y[/url

Please dont bring "facts" onto Southstander.com in future.

T.I.A.

You mean they actually paid him?!

I completely agree with RhinoNeil in the OP.

I think he was over-egging it a bit when he suggested half the salary, but the point is still spot on. It's not about the money.

If Saints offered £140k p/a and A.N.Other NRL club offered £100k p/a, I certainly think he'd go for the NRL, as would 90% in that situation.

It's about testing yourself amongst the best, coupled with the lifestyle. Not to mention the fact that the pay cut you may have to take would certainly be helped (if not totally cancelled out) by the much cheaper cost of living in Oz anyway.

I too follow the Burgess' on Twitter and Sam is having the time of his life out there.

Also...


That's fantastic! What a great analogy. Top marks and I totally agree.

If you don't think Super League, entirely in it's own right, is an entertaining, watch-able product, then why are you even here? All you're doing is voluntarily subjecting yourself to something that you don't like, or enjoy and you've clearly been spending too much time with Gillian McKeith.

The bottom line is we're not the NRL, so either enjoy SL for what it is, or stop watching it.