Quote [uBag bit more on the cap[/u SUPER LEAGUE'S salary cap has had a strong effect on limiting players' wages and, in general, that has been a good thing. I do know some clubs find ways to get around it. A few have been fined and deducted points but others have got away with it. I know it happens because players have told me. I am aware of one very high-profile international who was on the point of leaving to go to rugby union. He had a lucrative offer from one of the top Premiership sides and his Super League outfit could not afford to match that and still stay within the cap. They did not want to lose him, so they paid him one wage on the books and the rest was handed over in the proverbial brown paper bag. '" www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... Sport.html

Quote [uBag bit more on the cap[/u SUPER LEAGUE'S salary cap has had a strong effect on limiting players' wages and, in general, that has been a good thing. I do know some clubs find ways to get around it. A few have been fined and deducted points but others have got away with it. I know it happens because players have told me. I am aware of one very high-profile international who was on the point of leaving to go to rugby union. He had a lucrative offer from one of the top Premiership sides and his Super League outfit could not afford to match that and still stay within the cap. They did not want to lose him, so they paid him one wage on the books and the rest was handed over in the proverbial brown paper bag. '" www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... Sport.html

Obviously Warrington.

edit: Wonder if he will face action for his comments? If the RFL can fine Tomkins £1000 for 'minor misconduct', surely this is a lot worse?

No chance. I doubt anybody will be wanting him to justify his comments.

Which "high profile international" at Warrington do you think he is referring to, Ben Westwood or Ben Harrison?

Not Leeds !!!

look what sean long said in his book he knows players what bet on match also, nowt happen to him did it

It's good to finally have official confirmation that it's known to be happening within the game. I've always suspected it. No matter what the rules are certain clubs will always look to push the boundaries of what they are allowed to do. We all know those clubs, they feel they are being unfairly restricted by the cap and see rules and regulations as being beneath them.

With Super League clubs owned and operated by people with interests in many businesses, it is incredibly easy to get around the cap and there is no chance of ever being caught. The scenario Senior mentions happens will not see the cash come from the club itself, it will no doubt come from a third party company in which a club official has an interest. The bigger the company the easier it is to do. The other scenario he mentions of wives and girlfriends being employed is also happening. I know for a fact it's happening. Again, they are not employed by the club itself, but by a third party company that the RFL will not be checking nor would have the resources to check properly.

It all begs the question of whether the current salary cap is still feasible. Clubs ARE breaching it and we can all guess who they are. So if the artificially levelled playing field is still not level, is there any real point to it anymore? What can the RFL actually do? Would they even be permitted to enquire about a player's girlfriend's employment and salary? Or a player's bank account? Or the accounts and bank records of a third party company? I seriously doubt it. So it will always go on. I said on here a long time ago that there will be many, many skeletons in the closet that will come out in autobiographies once players start to retire. It seems to be happening now. Long has mentioned being offered cash in an envelope by Wigan, although in those days the cap may not have existed.

Has Senior retired now? If not, the RFL should prevent him from playing until he tells them the information he claims to know.

It brings in the whole situation cricket and athletics have suffered from recently. How can fans believe in what they are seeing? If Warrington smash through the Grand Final this year for example, are they really doing it fairly? Would Wigan be if they won it? (Note, I'm not saying either club are). Good teams will always have the mud slung at them.

I can't think of any current high profile internationals that have had interest from Union. The only players I remember having interest revealed publicly actually moved to Union. Tomkins is the only big player I can think of that it could possibly be.

Could be though it doesn't say it was a current player, could be say Kieron Cunningham. I know he was strongly linked with the WRU at some point.

Paying wives and girlfriends through an "independent third party" company is one of the variants on the "legal" way to circumvent the salary cap that I have been going on about for ages. Its actually a much safer way too, since it can be applied equally to UK-domiciled players and you don't necessarily need to worry about offshore accounts and personal service companies. There are other variants.

As I have said frequently before - the salary cap can be voluntary if you are a wealthy owner with a willingness to circumvent it. Its a good job that none of our club owners are sufficiently dishonourable that they would seek to do such a thing, isn't it? And the tale I heard, from a source I would have regarded as impeccable, that the RFL is fully aware of what goes on, but lacks the powers or resources to prove it, can only have been hearsay, obviously.

He is a current player and I think the RFL are duty bound to follow up his accusations. If he won't give them the details he should be suspended , he can't have it both ways.

But the RFL paid the extra in that case, as they did with Radlinski.

The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.

The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.

Quote ="Finfin"The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.'" It's not really. They aren't after a qualified accountant or a legal expert, just someone with a background in either who has the right personnal qualities. At the end of the day it doesn't exactly matter anyway, given the methods Senior mentions would never be picked up through official channels anyway.

Quote ="Finfin"The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.'" It's not really. They aren't after a qualified accountant or a legal expert, just someone with a background in either who has the right personnal qualities. At the end of the day it doesn't exactly matter anyway, given the methods Senior mentions would never be picked up through official channels anyway.

Care to name and shame Senior? Doubt it

Quote ="Finfin"The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.'" I would apply for that if it weren't 2 hours of commuting from my home. Can you imagine how interesting it would be? You would be able to go into work and see how much each club was spending on players. "Oh, Tomkins is on £x, Westwood's paid £x, Eastmond was on £x". Dream job.

Quote ="Finfin"The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.'" I would apply for that if it weren't 2 hours of commuting from my home. Can you imagine how interesting it would be? You would be able to go into work and see how much each club was spending on players. "Oh, Tomkins is on £x, Westwood's paid £x, Eastmond was on £x". Dream job.

I wouldn't have thought Senior could actually name those involved, though I doubt he'd have wanted to anyway, for legal reasons. If he named the player and club in the example he gives then no doubt that club would sue him.

Quote ="Finfin"The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.'" Could not agree more. I would say needs to be getting on for double that to have any chance of getting someone able to do effectively what they say in the role description. Realistically, it needs to be someone who has trained in the Profession, then spent a fair bit of time out in the real commercial world, preferably handling contract and other legal stuff and knowing what REALLY goes on. Whoever they get for that will, unless its someone heading towards retirement with a load of experience but not wanting or needing a commercial salary, fall well short of the skill set needed, IMO. No bloody wonder Rot Hall is a joke.

Quote ="Finfin"The RFL are currently advertising for a salary cap auditor. www.therfl.co.uk/careers_at_the_ ... ry_cap_man The salary for this is far too low to get the right person with the right qualifications.'" Could not agree more. I would say needs to be getting on for double that to have any chance of getting someone able to do effectively what they say in the role description. Realistically, it needs to be someone who has trained in the Profession, then spent a fair bit of time out in the real commercial world, preferably handling contract and other legal stuff and knowing what REALLY goes on. Whoever they get for that will, unless its someone heading towards retirement with a load of experience but not wanting or needing a commercial salary, fall well short of the skill set needed, IMO. No bloody wonder Rot Hall is a joke.

If this is the case, then why on earth do we still have an SC?

Only a complete idiot would come out with a comment like that? Name one high profile Wire international from a few years ago who's still playing now? more likely from the club that blew the SC apart some years ago, now who could that be?

It does look like Warrington are busting the cap at the moment, but we've seen better sides in the past. It's hard to judge it now because they allowed incremental contracts to be brought in officially after Wigan trialled it as a way of bending the rules. It's impossible to judge where clubs are in that cycle and how much they're doing it.

The cap should either be heavily enforced or not exist at all. We can't muddle along in this blissful ignorance like the RFL are doing.

Ofc not, he's got no proof other than what he's been told. So if he named and shamed without that proof he'd be open to a large, legal case

Great way to sell a book, and sell out the sport that's kept him in horses!

My point exactly. He should just shut up unless he has proof

In my industry, this would be considered whistle-blowing and he'd be compelled to name the people he's accusing and give more details about the allegations he's making. If he refused to do so, he'd face disciplinary action.