Ineptness from the RFL that they allowed Wigan to do this. But then, the RFL is inept in so many ways.

I wonder what all the other 'stakeholders' think of this decision? It's going to make a nightmare out of contract negotiations.

i think this has been agreed with the other clubs.... i just think its a ridiculous way for fans to find out about it.

Totally agree on the contract negotiations.... all the top level players will be looking at tomkins salary and thinking 'i fancy some of that'

Also.....I wonder how all these arrogant aussie players are going to react to being paid less than an english player in an 'inferior' league.

deffo going to be some interesting developments regarding salaries over the next few years.

I think we will see many junior players who rate themselves much better than they really are at this stage throwing their dummies out of the pram and threats to go to Union! Still can't work out were all the extra money will come from? no announcement yet of a Super League sponsor for 2012?

Somebody told me last week that it is going to be Heinz, and that it wouldn't be announced until after the four nations had finished.

Conflict of interests perhaps, given they are also a commercial partner of Wigan?

As I said earlier in this thread, the timing could have been much earlier than that. We've lost Robinson (some time ago), Farrell , Ashton & Thornley in recent history. This rule has had to come in at some point but most peoples problem seems to be it benefitted Wigan. If this rule had been suggested by Saints when Eastmond was on the move, then people would have complained that it didn't help Ashton. Unfortunately at some point something has changed. Wigan have suggested it, The RFL hadn't though of it but liked the idea and it has to be cleared with other clubs before it can be brought in. It has been brought in so clearly the clubs think it's a worthwhile route to take.

I don't see a conflict of interest at all - Wigan clearly run the league already so why not formalise the arrangement by having them and their partners officially sponsoring it?

I can't believe how incredibly angry this has made me - it was bad enough them allegedly being allowed to sign that Welsh RU has-been off cap, but this is just a whole new level of disgusting unfairness... All my enthusiasm for the new season/stadium has been utterly blown out of the water now...

It depends what happens now. If it's a one off for Wigan to keep Tomkins in the sport I don't agree with it at all. If it's something the other clubs have voted in favour of and have been consulted on, then we can't really complain too much.

I suspect however that rather than the other clubs announcing how they'll benefit from the change and what they will do with it, that it will just go quiet. Wigan will benefit but no one else will and they'll spend £100k more than anyone else, which is how they have always wanted it to be.

What annoys me though is Leneghan's comments today about how Wigan now have enough room for a £100,000+ NRL centre. Although he said they don't want one, you get the feeling that's only because there are no decent player available due to the timing of it.

A salary cap ammendment that enables British young players to stay in the sport is good, but it shouldn't be a loophole that enables clubs to add further overseas players.

Wigan were also the first club to get prize money for winning the league leaders shield.

JJB were also once a sponsor of Superleague and it wasn't a problem then, in fact I think Saints actually won it.

You seem to have your nose close to the ground. Have you heard any specifics about the cap changes? Are they in fact cap changes or just Wigan being allowed an exemption to keep Tomkins in the sport? Will the other clubs get the benefits as well?

I've not heard anything more than yourselves but I wasn't shocked by it. I would like to hear the official side from the RFL which is why I posted the link to their Operational Rules yesterday and am hoping that they will soon be updated to show any changes.

I understand your point, and agree with the rule change (subject to it being clarified; the devil is often in the detail).

It would just make more sense, and be infinitely more fair, for it to be 'with effect from the 2012 season', for example. Changing the rules midway means that within the same season, some clubs have lost their star players without having the chance to offer them further incentive to stay while others get to benefit from the rule change and effectively giving them a larger cap to play with for the forthcoming season.

Given that the Salary Cap year runs from 1 December - 30 November, the change [iis[/i being implemented 'with effect from the 2012 season'.

So technically Wigan are in breach of the salary cap? I suggest a point deduction for every pound over the cap they are. At 100,000 points, I reckon thats about 2,000 years before Wigan earn a competition point again.

Seems reasonable.

Exactly - as it stands it is a rule change [ispecifically[/i to allow Wigan to cheat and gain an unfair advantage once again. Even if the rule [iis[/i applied globally and other clubs do eventually also benefit from it, there are only 3 or 4 clubs in the entire league in a strong enough financial position to be able to use it, as for every other club that is losing tonnes of money each and every year the old cap is too high for them to be able to afford already. Every non-"Big 4" club will now be faced with the prospect of either eternal mid-table mediocrity, or bankrupting themselves trying to keep up, exactly as per the '80s/'90s Wigan "glory years". It can serve no purpose but to give an unfair advantage to an elite few clubs and utterly annihilates the whole point of having a cap in the first place.

The simple fact is British RL can simply not compete with RU or the NRL for wages. Not by a long, long way. This move will do and can do nothing to change that until another 10 million a year in sponsorship magically appears for the league from somewhere. We all have to face up to the simple financial facts - British RL will only survive in the longer term at an inexorably lower talent level than it does currently and there's bugger all that any non-billionaire can do about it. Tomkins will still end up in RU or the NRL in a few seasons' time. All this does is make an already preposterous, random and deeply unfair league much, much less fair still.

Some of Ian Leneghan's comments this week suggest Wigan are in the process of having the salary cap scrapped altogether, or are threatening to do so. His comment about it being his belief that he can offer any player a better deal than any club in either code is particularly mysterious as some players in French RU have been given deals worth a third of the SL salary cap. Especially as Tomkins has taken this allowance already.

If the salary cap is scrapped then British RL is dead. Simple. I for one will not enter another RL ground if it ever happens - I don't see what would be the point, frankly. If Wigan or anyone else are that determined to make a mockery of the sport and cheat and buy their way to meaningless trophy wins in this way then let them sod off to RU and do it there and leave those of us who actually love the sport instead to continue enjoying it. B******s....

Good Lord.
There is nothing to suggest that the salary cap is being scrapped (other than a wind up post from Saddened - and not even one of his better ones).
There are some amendments being made to the regulations that's all - this is not unusual. The rules have been amended and tinkered with many, many times since the inception of the Salary Cap.

The public communication hasn't been great. Perhaps if everyone just waits and has a read of the amended regulations when they're published it will turn out that the sky isn't about to fall in.

According to Andy Wilson in his Guardian blog, there is no new 'Marquee' dispensation on the cap. Apparently Wigan have taken advantage of Sean O'Loughlin qualifying for the 10 year dispensation (and presumably the salary freed up by Joel's departure) to rustle up the cash for Sam. www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 ... CMP=twt_gu

According to Andy Wilson in his Guardian blog, there is no new 'Marquee' dispensation on the cap. Apparently Wigan have taken advantage of Sean O'Loughlin qualifying for the 10 year dispensation (and presumably the salary freed up by Joel's departure) to rustle up the cash for Sam. www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 ... CMP=twt_gu

Quote ="Dux"According to Andy Wilson in his Guardian blog, there is no new 'Marquee' dispensation on the cap. Apparently Wigan have taken advantage of Sean O'Loughlin qualifying for the 10 year dispensation (and presumably the salary freed up by Joel's departure) to rustle up the cash for Sam. www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 ... CMP=twt_gu'" Which completely contradicts what was published the day before: Quote ="The Telegraph"Lenagan revealed Wigan have taken advantage of amendments to the Super League salary cap to help keep Sam Tomkins in the game. The Rugby Football League are sticking with a £1.7million ceiling but clubs are to be given permission to make allowances for long-serving, marquee and home-grown players in an effort to prevent a drain of talent to Australia and the 15-man code.'" Which leads me to suspect that if the RFL and Wigan don't properly clarify what they've done, Wigan are being allowed to breach the cap to keep Sam in the sport. Another point which contradicts it just being them using the allowance for O'Loughlin is Leneghan's comments that Wigan can beat any offer any League or Union team can make to a player.

Quote ="Dux"According to Andy Wilson in his Guardian blog, there is no new 'Marquee' dispensation on the cap. Apparently Wigan have taken advantage of Sean O'Loughlin qualifying for the 10 year dispensation (and presumably the salary freed up by Joel's departure) to rustle up the cash for Sam. www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 ... CMP=twt_gu'" Which completely contradicts what was published the day before: Quote ="The Telegraph"Lenagan revealed Wigan have taken advantage of amendments to the Super League salary cap to help keep Sam Tomkins in the game. The Rugby Football League are sticking with a £1.7million ceiling but clubs are to be given permission to make allowances for long-serving, marquee and home-grown players in an effort to prevent a drain of talent to Australia and the 15-man code.'" Which leads me to suspect that if the RFL and Wigan don't properly clarify what they've done, Wigan are being allowed to breach the cap to keep Sam in the sport. Another point which contradicts it just being them using the allowance for O'Loughlin is Leneghan's comments that Wigan can beat any offer any League or Union team can make to a player.

My suspicion is that this is poor journalism creating something out of nothing.

Either way silence from the RFL. Not a clarification for everyone. Nor a denial of any rules change just silence.

Is the media face of the RFL taking a collective holiday during the four nations.

We moan at a lack of publicity but this is something to keep rugby league on the pages yet no comment at all.

Poor journalism by the Telegraph? Potentially, but given how big a deal a cap ammendment would be, surely there should be clarification somewhere.

How would you explain Leneghan's comments about Wigan being able to offer a better deal than any league or union club? Or about the reports from Wigan of Sam being the highest paid league player in the world. It doesn't add up.