no, quite simply!

tried before and failed, all it does is push price up to union clubs, who frankly can afford to come and get who they want if money is the only motivator.

and where would the central money come from?????

we dont lose that many anyway and mostly they fail!

Yes, for the good of the game.

We must stop this crop of 2nd rate convicts at centre/wing/half back stopping our lads getting a game at an age when it matters

^^ this.

We can't really afford this as a sport at the moment.

Whichever club the player plays at they should ahve a top up payment for the 30 highest rated players, maybe a performance team could assess this. Problem being when one wants it they'll all want it.
I've no doubt that eastmond would be staying if he had another few grand tapped on.

Maybe the top ten players under 24 regardless of where they played could have a central contract, assessed every year

What would this achieve other than a lot of hassle, a less even playing field, and making us look desperate as a sport? All the players that have already gone to Union and all the players that ever will go are instantly replaceable.

You are kidding right?
They're only interested in our best, yes they might leave plenty behind but we'll never compete with aus if our best crop get cherry picked

I must have missed all these outstanding players that have left and damaged the national team then, or left big holes in their sides that haven't instantly been filled with no detriment whatsoever.

I'd rather see us spending the extra money getting our academy set up sorted out so we have plenty coming through when someone leaves. The fact our national team looks so weak has nothing to do with RU!

I hate to break it to you lot but you are not producing any players even worth looking at.


Who do you centrally contract? Wellens? Long?


Hell last time you tried it you gave millions to an over weight hooker who promptly told the RFL to shove it up their ar$e any time a test match rolled around and he might have to face decent quality opposition!

Best as in Chris Ashton (anyone remember him), Chev Walker, Karl Pryce?

Smith's a decent prospect and Eastmonds our best looking half back for a while, he's gone pretty much.
2 in a year who would have played for Eng over the coming few years, only 2 but watch them count up

If Eastmond goes it'll be a bit disappointing. Smith is decent but emminently replaceable.

The problem isn't the cap, the problem is money. Union has more because of its cash cow international matches.

In the short-term there isn't much that can be done about it.

hmm but would these players be tempted by even a little top up from the RFL?

Only if it's more then Union is prepared to offer and due to the reasons already identified that would be very unlikely. Spend the money on juniors who want to play League.

The only thing I can think of that would make more money available, without actually making more money, is reducing the matchday squad to 16 and the squad to 24 (actually gives you more depth proportionally over the season, though less during a match).

Would the cash this freed up be used to fend off Union or predate on the NRL?



Actually with limits being placed on imports, cash as well as opportunities should be freed up for British players.

The day we try and compete wih rugby union financially is the day we can kiss our game goodbye. Suicide.

Surely Smith and Eastmond did!

But don’t anymore. Who knows, give it two years and they may decide they want to play League again, all without giving in to agents touting their clients around for the best financial deal for them… err, sorry, their clients. It’s just part of the food chain, League is the poorer relation and will always be outbid by Union and English Union will always be outbid by French RU.

Rather then central contracts their should be an amendment to the SC to only consider 50% of club produced players salary thus enabling the clubs to offer their youngsters a little more (if the are able to).

I've said this before, but

We spent 100 years arguing for a free gangway between the codes, while also arguing that we produce the better players.

Suddenty, RU clubs believe us.


Where's the problem?

Rugby League was FOUNDED on this sh*t!


I wouldn't worry much at all about union looking to steal your players. You have no decent ones to steal!

Your best players write books about how they got one over a club in Wigan and stayed in a club based in St Helens while union players are playing South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, France and the like.


The sad fact is union in Great Britain is so far ahead of Rugby League....I don't think they even know the game exists.

very true.
More peeps play union in England than SA, NZ and OZ combined.

Its not just the numbers though.

Its the quality of the player produced. Its the level, on a world scale, that they compete at. Its the way the RFU and increasingly its clubs are looking at the larger picture and realizing that the strength of their competing clubs is in direct relation to the strength of themselves.

The RFU look at their version of the world cup with the idea of doing what ever it takes to win it.

The RFL....eh....we're really good as it is. We'll win it OUR way.....


Its a disgrace!

The problem is that there is no restrictions on what the RFU clubs can pay, while RL clubs are limited (even if they have the cash in the bank). In effect, we are shooting ourselves in the foot by trying to make our sport more competitive, if we start to lose our best youngsters because of salary cap restraints, how is that going to get us closer to the Aussies at international level.

But, in reality, how many have that luxury?

There are limits on what English RU clubs can pay. That's a big part of why they are losing players in turn to French RU.

Letting Leeds and Wigan sign up all the best British players might stop a few leaving (it is hardly a flood at the moment and a decent proportion seem to regret it), but then you've just swapped one problem (an unbalanced SL) for the [upossibility[/u of solving another. Because we are kidding ourselves that we'd be significantly closer to Australia if Smith and Eastmond stayed - especially if they were playing weak opponents week in, week out. RL is much bigger in Eastern Australia - they were better even when we were taking players [ifrom[/i Union. Some problems don't have solutions.

Out of interest - do people think their club is sustainably capable of paying out say £2M in wages (a roughly 25% increase, but still half the Guiness Premiership cap; though they do have bigger squads, of course)? I'll start - very much doubt it.