IFL explained how it worked out with lockers at the last forum i went to it was along those lines that you mentioned!
i think thats an interesting idea that rugby union do with the reguards the oversea's players, how would it effect us though using pat richards as example because of his irish passport? are there not too many loop holes in our game to make the rule un enforceable??

Its a absolute cert that his brother will follow him..joel will be a big name on big money playing on a much bigger international stage..And sam will be on less money getting abused week in week out by fans playing infront of 15k at wembley against australia.

not really a hard decision i would say.

I hope there's another explanation for this but it's looking likely that we are going to be loosing a star player.

In the sunday times post mortem about england ru's latest failure, there was an article about who will win them the world cup in 4 yrs time.

The picture to go with the article was sam tomkins.

Not saying it's a done deal, but these things usually build a head of steam, especially when his agent is a ru agent and he can see how much ashton has benefitted....

im not saying joel had no choice but he may look at the furture at wigan as

a) playing out of position
b) because of this struggling to get into an international side he should walk into
c) new coach - all may not go well
d) lure of fame and fortune

i'll be gutted if he leaves, well and truly, but feel we/the club need to take their share of the blame.

Ahhh this is annoying me now. Rugby Union doesn't deserve to have players with the quality of Sam and Joel, it's a boring sport and Sam would tear it up.

Sort it out RFL!

Radio 5 was saying it would be Owen Farrell and Mike Ford's lad, 2 more lost to the game for different reasons.

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everybody moaning about the loss of players to union and how its the salary cap this salary cap that. Clubs had a vote and voted not to raise the cap. Personally i dont see the problem with anyone bettering themselves financially because if we have it right there is not a chance in hell the RL could ever compete with Union finacially.

So we should just sit back and let it happen?

Already sold over 30K I believe...Just saying like

What can be done to stop it scrap the cap? Then we'll have everyone cry arsing that wigan are winning everything again because we're buying everyone on big wages.

And you have no thoughts on that clubs may well vote that way in their own interests and not that of the game as a whole? This game has been held back by short sighted club chairmen who buy into clubs as a hobby than any real desire for the game as a whole to progress. Mo Lindsay had many failings but lack of vision wasn't one of them. On that score the current lot of chairmen are useless.

It is blindingly obvious those involved in clubs with less money available will prevent those who have it from using it to pay players more cash even if that means the best ones are lost to the game. They do not care if they think it means they have a chance at matching the better clubs.



If you don't see a problem with this you are obviously happy to accept RU can come and pick whichever players it wants whenever it wants from any club it wants. The game can protect itself to a degree over things like this by doing things like tying players to long term deals and [uenforcing the contracts[/u. If we can't or won't do that then that is anarchy.

Except that it will be Wire who try to buy everyone, followed by us, then Leeds and Hull.

Saints would be at the top of the next tier, along with Huddersfield, KR and Catalans.

Then you would probably have everyone else.

So a 3-tier system that would still have pretty much the same top 8 as now. Only RL might actually be able to keep a few top players and even (gods forbid) tempt a few GOOD Aussies and maybe a RU player or 2, rather than leaking the best in the opposite direction(s).

Its not a case of being happy about it its a case that nobody can stop it happening. They cannot enforce players to see out their contracts everyone has the right to buy themselves out of contracts and thats what union is doing. As fans we obviously arent going to be happy that players might or might not be leaving but at the end of the day its peoples lively hoods we are on about, they get paid for doing a job and somebody is offering them a chance of change of career with better incentives and salary. What would anyone else do if someone came to them and said come do this job for me and ill give you double your wages and all these other incentives.

Its certainly an ever increasing problem. Was bad enough when they were pinching players at the end of their careers. Will be a blow for RL if a player of Joels ability is allowed to leave. I've felt for a while that central contracts need be held for the top 25 English players each season - with their additional RFL payments not counting on the cap.

On the other hand, maybe Joel wants to leave. Why spend the next 10 years putting your body through the physical battering of RL when you can lounge around in a RU threequarter line seeing the ball twice a match. More money for a likely longer career - maybe he isn't so daft after all

If the cap was a % of turnover, then it would be Wigan at the top, not Warrington.

Surely the answer to this is that anybody who comes through your own academy and is in your top 25 man squad doesn't count on the salary cap

I think you're right. It would also encourage clubs to bring in more revenue through sponsorship and more emphasis would be put on how clubs market themselves, giving the game more publicity throughout the UK.

Joel is a minor loss to rugby league, he is VASTLY over-rated and I'm sure Wigan have just as good or better second rowers coming through the youth academy.

The loss would obviously be Sam, and something needs to be done. However, quite a few people on here didn't seem so bothered when Eastmond left Saints for union, in fact it was hilarious it seemed. It is that kind of attitude which is driving English RL backwards, we should support our game as a whole before we support our individual clubs.

Even if we don't raise the salary cap, teams who develop their own talent should be rewarded with a percentage of such players' wages not counting towards it.

www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/ ... h-saracens If the salary figures stated in that article are correct, it's no bloody wonder he's tempted to leave.

www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/ ... h-saracens If the salary figures stated in that article are correct, it's no bloody wonder he's tempted to leave.

No they don't have a right. They can ask to leave and be told no. They only have a right if the contract stipulates a get out clause.

If it were that easy there would be no contracts at all and players would swap clubs willy nilly inside the game never mind going to RU. Anti tapping up rules would be unenforceable and as I said it would be anarchy.



Sports contracts are not like normal employment contracts. They do not have notice periods as mine does with my employer. They are fixed term contracts with two parities involved and if one of them does not agree to it being terminated then the fact the player could earn more elsewhere is irrelevant. Joel can ask to leave but IL should tell him to honour his contract. Simple as that really.

joel tomkins last years dream team second rower is over rated?

Your premise is that our game is thriving. It isn't !

Many years ago there used to be loads of players waiting for trains at Wallgate station travelling to play for the likes of Warrington,Salford,Swinton and all the rest. Wigan was a conveyor belt of talent and they couldn't all play for Wigan.

Nowadays far too many young lads would sooner play with their Playstations than get roughed up in the scrum.

To lose players of the calibre of Sam Tomkins is an unmitigated disaster. The last time we had any great players at Wigan, they were people like Sean Edwards and Andy Gregory. And how long ago was that ?

Great players don't come along every day. You see a few in a lifetime.

The salary cap was a disaster from day one in my opinion. You cannot blame too much these young players being seduced by big money for an easier life in Union. But unless something changes, then Rugby League will just be a 'feeder club' for Rugby Union

That's a viable solution, which rewards those clubs who put effort into developing players, and makese sense. You could even just have 50% of their salary exempted.

So, in other words, no chance of it happening.