We are quite obviously 216486816 billion pounds over the cap.

and well done to the clubs for producing players!!!

For too long the quality has been diluted to the point where are today. The rest need to raise their standards in youth development etc not the other way round.

Not sure we are at the stage where player production rates could sustain it yet, but eventually I'd prefer to see the cap slashed with home-grown players not being counted against it at all.

How is it being diluted?

If you allow clubs with sugar daddys to spend millions developing players, then allow them to break the cap to keep them then RL will be in a poor state in 10 years.

My main point though is of central contracts, it would allow clubs unable to spend to full cap to keep their England stars, plus topping up the 'top players' wages to keep union and the NRL away.

Have the specifics of this change been announced yet?

Could completely change SL, depending obviously on the details of the new exemptions. If Sam Tomkins is marquee surely Ryan Hall is now too. James Roby, Rhys Evans at Warrington. Josh Charley, Hardaker, Lomax, the young Cas hooker who is wanted by several NRL clubs. Just how far will it reach and how many will each side be allowed?

Wigan thumb their nose at fairness and equality, again.

we should'nt be keeping the NRL away

It does, on the face of it, appear to be a rule that will help the big clubs spend more money on wages.

I cant see many of the small/middle tier clubs getting much of an advantage from this ruling.... most cant spend up to the cap anyway.....

May as well just scrap the cap and let everyone get on with it.

That's the whole point though, they are. It's not just Wigan that have got this.

Most people have been calling for a system where home grown players, or international stars etc etc only count for a certain amount on the cap.

Just because Wigan have been the ones actually suggesting this to the RFL doesn't mean that it is any less beneficial to every other team in the league (If they got their s in gear).

The main problem with this is that instead of the RFL announcing it properly, explaining the rules to everyone etc etc, its come out as a bi-product of Sam Tomkins new contract, making it look like Wigan are doing something wrong (which they aren't, the RFL have agreed and it is new laws that will apply across the entire league).

If this new rule means that Jonny Lomax (for example) can recieve a much bigger contract to keep him away from Union in 2 years time, will you still be moaning about the fact that it took the genuine threat of Tomkins going elsewhere to make it happen?

This is a good thing, and shockingly enough the clubs who will benefit most are the ones who produce their own players who go onto international success.

You obviously know that's not true.

Maybe if you produced your own players, it would be

Why do that when they can just rape Salford every twelve months?

Surely the aim is to make SL better?

In a nutshell.

nope..the aim should be to make ENGLAND RL better

But the whole point of the franchise system was to aid those "smaller/middle" tier clubs into developing stadia, crowds etc etc to enable them to spend the whole cap.

Widnes must not be far off being able to spend the whole cap, they were making a pretty sizeable profit whilst in the championship, let alone super league.

Salford are getting a new stadium, increased revenue's (and hopefully crowds) should enable them to spend more on the cap.

Wakefield/Castleford should have new stadiums already, they don't, so they can't afford to spend to the cap.

The number of clubs spending to the cap will only increase (in my view), but aside from that, the way to improve a competition isn't to drag down those at the top, but to help teams further down improve and challenge further up. The fact that the salary cap hasn't risen in however long is definately that of the former, top clubs are able to spend less (in equivalent terms) than they were and that is dragging down the level of competition.

Off the top of my head, I'd imagine Wigan, Wire, Saints, Hull FC, Leeds will definately be spending to the cap. Hudds, KR, Catalan and Bradford can't be far off.

If Sam had gone then England RL would be weaker, he hasn't and so they aren't. So you'll be happy then?

Don't understand the posters moaning Wigan are cheating. It's the same rules for all the other clubs. To keep it a level playing field, teams like Quins, Salford & Wakey need to up their game, not expect Saints Leeds & Wigan to come down to their level.

Personally i think each team should be allowed at least one player completely exempt from the cap. this would stop the player drain. Glad Tomkins is staying, couldn't giv e amonkey's about his brother, he's bog standard and if Saracens want to throw silly money at him, let them.

absolutely........i don't care if he plays here or in the NRL as long as he's still playing RL

this player exempt has to be english though.......we can't be having warrington signing thurston

Go on then, what were those *specific* reasons? People seem to think they know what they are, but I've never seen those reasons listed ( they might be for all I know, I've just never seen them )

FWIW the reasons behind salary and squad control (and I put them together because they're not seperate issues) *should* be:

Prevent a club from spending more that *it* can afford.
Prevent a club from having too many top players in the squad but outside the first XIII (it cheats the game's fans to have the top players in clubs reserves, rather than in others' first XIII )
Prevent a club from having too many overseas players
Encourage a club to have a strong academy

This is a genuine question, in that I don't know the answer, but was 'Equalize competition' ever listed by the RFL as a specific goal? In my opinion its a stupid goal because it impossible to acheive without screwing the game. I'd welcome the RFL listing the specific reasons ( and would hope that 'equalize' wouldn't be one of them ), because once you've specifically defined what you're trying to acheive you have a better chance of designing a system to do it.

One of the problems with the salary cap, at least as fans are concerned, is that people have widely different views about what the cap is supposed to be for. People bang on about the cap without explaining *what* they want it to actually do. The cap isn't some sacred cow, its just an instrument of control, one of many possible ways to control the finances of the game to the game's advantage. I'd rather argue about what specifically we're trying to acheive first - the rest is implementation details.

Too b****y right. It's way past time the other clubs stopped being nannied. Bring back relegation too. We've encouraged mediocrity on and off the pitch for too long.

A salary cap is the best way to address the second goal (spending beyond means), but the first goal is better acheived with a more structured type of squad control ( kind of like the 20/20 rule ). For me, I'd be even more aggressive on the number of players, but looser on the salary, more like 13/100 or something. That kind of system *forces* you to bring good players through because you've got max 13 stars...but, *if you can afford it* you can at least get the top stars to bring in the sponsors, media interest, etc. 13 superstars is enough to put a lot of bums on a lot a seats but not enough to totally dominate.

Is the irony of being a Wigan fan and suggesting clubs shouldn't be nannied not hit you in the face yet?

Wigan spent millions they didn't have creating their history in the 80's/90's and had to be bought as a vehicle to enable Whelan to be able to build the JJB stadium for the football team. And now you want to be let loose again because being on a level playing field just isn't fair.

Will the Wigan fans agree that it would be wrong if they announce any further signings for next season?

You get the cap raised to sign Tomkins to a big contract, so should in theory have no cap room available now. And yet the papers are full of rumours about an NRL player signing soon and another two players from Crusaders.