To me 'reformed' would be to move to central contracts for elite players at academy level to GB/England - 70-80 in total. The money to come from the Sky funding and the players released back to their clubs with a ceiling on games played and attendance at regular international training camps, this would also stop money being wasted on average overseas journeymen by forcing clubs to invest in Juniors and then play them when ready.
The top 25 English players should be subsidised £100k each and on 3 year deals if under 25, the next 25 @£50k and the 25 best under 20's at £25k.
Introduce real P&R, have 2 divisions of 10 in SL and limit quota at 2 non GB, excl French clubs ( must be 2)

Quote ="Toulouse for super L"We should do this so we can compete financially with union and stop them stealing our best youngsters viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478576&start=15'" 1996 called, they want their ideas back.

Quote ="Toulouse for super L"We should do this so we can compete financially with union and stop them stealing our best youngsters viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478576&start=15'" 1996 called, they want their ideas back.

He'll be back soon enough I would think.

see Lee Smith, he could soon come back if it doesn't work out.

Quote ="Alex Mc"[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/default.stm[/url'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 327288.stm

Quote ="Alex Mc"[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/default.stm[/url'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 327288.stm

I didn't know Brad Davies was coaching onion. www.bathrugby.com/team/8095.php

I didn't know Brad Davies was coaching onion. www.bathrugby.com/team/8095.php

I dont recall any of those teams from 1996?

Also 1 team at a time, with additional funds coming from the RFL every 3 years is the way to make expansion successful

Strange decision but understandable. Understandable as he will make a fortune. Strange as I'm not convinced that a player who is still developing and only has a few years rugby under his belt should jump ship to what is a different game.

Bound to happen with the salary cap in place, would you blame Eastmond if his earning potential was increased and he went to union.

As a Saints fan I am a tad sick of this. There are clearly two possible truths here...

1. Kyle is willing to just sell himself to the highest bidder and Saints (or an other Superleague Club for that matter) will not be able to compete money wise.

2. Kyle is simply trying to force his wages up while getting every interested union club to buy him a free lunch.

I imagine that it would be the second. Hopefully Saints can get him signed up for 4-5 years and we won't have to listen to this story for a while.

If I am wrong hopefully he can move on as soon as possible so Saints can forge a new half back partnership now rather than having to extend our transitional period.

You cannot blame Eastmond or any other player in his position for looking at the options available. We love the sport of Rugby League and he (while he may also love it as a player) is a professional whose financial future is dependent on it. If he is being tempted by wages three or four times what he is earning then anybody would be interested - I have 11 years service at my current employer and many friends but I would leave tomorrow if my salary was doubled by a competitor

As for the salary cap... well that is in place because as a sport we cannot trust the people who run the clubs to do so with any degree of competence at all... given the boom or bust mentality of sports clubs, I am sure that a few would go to the wall trying to punch above their weight if the cap was removed

Many Union clubs are already living beyond their means... with the likes of Sale, Saracens and Newcastle running massive squads and salaries with crowds of 5, 6 or 7k. I am sure that there are decent sponsorship agreements in place but a lot will be running operational losses. It is a sad reflection on the sport that the salary cap is there to protect clubs from themselves

I agree, but it will come at a cost of young British players crossing over from time to time, especially as clubs may now need to pay more for overseas players in light of the new tax rules.

They wish.

I hope its just a negotiating tool, rather than him just being a tool and seriously considering playing that dull heap of ****.

good luck to him, he is a very talented young player and should pick up the game easily. for his career and future prosperity its a no brainer.

as an RL player his earning potential and national profile will be much bigger in union, if he fails then he could always come back.

much as its not the game for me, he would be foolish to turn down the oportunity.

Even with the Salary Cap in place Saints and your club Hull antipodean Rovers run at a loss every year. If it wasnt in place we would have clubs regularly going bust

I hope he stays as he has all the ability to be a superstar in our game.
If he decides to go to union f00k him,that's all I have to say on this matter.

Jason Robinson made it with consumate ease. Kyle Eastmond is an even better raw talent than Robinson IMO. He has an incredibly similar running style and evasiveness plus has a far superior skillset in terms of passing and kicking than Robinson ever did.

If he could add the resilience and toughness that Robinson had throughout his career then he would clean up in Union.

IF. I don't see see Saints keeping him when you look at the salary caps in the respective leagues. The NRL will have far more spending power, the Guiness Premiership teams even more and French Union more still.

F*ck him. We have a good half back in Robinson. Put Roby in Hooker, we're fine from an england p.o.v.

what is the salary cap in RU?

Big loss if he goes, not liek England is producing much in halfback talent.

I keep seeing references to the salary cap like that's the only thing preventing Saints offering him a contract equal to what he can earn anywhere else in the world.

Have Saints suddenly uncovered a massive horde of pirate treasure under the Knowsley Road pitch or something? Based on the last few sets of accounts they've filed they're hardly in a financial position to be getting dragged into a bidding war, salary cap or not.

People have seriously deluded ideas about what RL as a sport (and Saints as a club, amongst other clubs) can and can't afford.

We should offer him as much as we can afford to within the constraints of the cap; we have no obligation to pay him the earth to keep him in RL to the detriment of our future squad.

Hopefully we find a way to keep him at Saints as he's an exciting player to watch, but if we can't (be it union, NRL or another SL club) then hey-ho. Roby was the key signing for us anyway IMO.

The Aviva Rah Rah League is not exactly in a brilliant position itself. The French are luring all of their top talent bit by bit. Wouldn't be a shock to see Eastmond go to Bath and, if he proves himself, pop up in Toulon or Clermont-Ferrand.

£4million in the Aviva Premiership, less than the NRL?

good luck to him,i hope he wins loads of england and british lion caps.
i hope he makes loads of money and loses his accent and i hope in about 10 years time he recieves a gong for sevices to rugby union.