£500k?
Also to be considered is the fact that Williams only takes up £75k cap space. Even I can see that’s good value. What benefit to the team in letting him go? It would take twice as much cap space to replace him even if our owner was so inclined. It’s exactly the same as the Sam/Zak scenario. We lose cap space and simultaneously weaken the team.

Not if he’s replaced with a marquee.

A crisis? A dramatic statement but I think we're possibly in a crisis. A terrible start to the season would be one thing but it's a number of issues which are possibly amounting to a crisis. Things mount up.

-poor start to the season
-terrible play (you can play well and lose, but we aren't)
-once again losing one of best players (who's a marquee is only small amount appears on the cap)
-replacing quality with lesser/questionable recruitment
-Issues with Edwards (bad press/more worry concern)

I'll hold judgement till after the wire game.

You can't question Lenagan as he has a big shiny halo and is in line for a Canonization

Quote ="Smalls"Not if he’s replaced with a marquee.'" Only if he is replaced with a marquee that has come through as "club trained" otherwise any other will count as £175K on the cap. See section 5. https://www.rugby-league.com/flipbooks/ ... html#p=272

Quote ="Smalls"Not if he’s replaced with a marquee.'" Only if he is replaced with a marquee that has come through as "club trained" otherwise any other will count as £175K on the cap. See section 5. https://www.rugby-league.com/flipbooks/ ... html#p=272

Only if he’s replaced with a homegrown marquee:

“- Marquee Player – Each Super League and Championship Club is permitted to have two Marquee Players whose Salary Cap Value is limited to £150,000 (or £75,000 if Club Trained).”

£75,000 on the cap for a player of George’s quality is superb. IF we did go for Maloney, he’d count for £150,000 (on the assumption he’d be paid much more than £150,000).

It’s a risk, but we could replace him with a Union player. But then the issue comes down to actual paying the wage, rather than the salary cap:

“- New Talent Pool Dispensation – Any Player who has not previously played Rugby League is given a value of £0 in the first year of his contract and at 50% of his true value in the second year.”

It is £250k. We were asking for a higher fee initially but Canberra pulled out so we lowered it, I don't think it was ever £500k though.

Rules out George Ford then as he was in our academy but also Bradford briefly I think?

Was 500,000 AUD I think which is just over 250,000 GBP

Isnt it if they havent played on a professional contract? Didnt Burrell play in Saints academy?

Think this is where the salary cap regulations are a little unclear, as they can apply discretion. Typically they shouldn’t have played first grade, academy or in “RFL Sponsored” competitions, but again can apply discretion and grant dispensation.

I’m sure Luther Burrell played for Hudds at a young age but Wire have been granted dispensation.

You’d like to think the RFL would allow it because of what such a signing would do for the game, but you never know...

No he played for Huddersfield aged 14

George never played for Wigan academy, his brother may have been at Bradford briefly. You're not getting confused with Stephen Myler are you?

“Profile
It has been a long journey from Saddleworth Rangers where George Ford was first involved in rugby at the age of four.

He moved on to Wigan Warriors and Bradford Bulls and studied for A levels in English, PE and psychology at Rishworth School, Halifax and was later a contemporary of Owen Farrell at St George’s School, Harpenden.”

“Both boys remained RL players, though, as George had scholarships at Warrington, Wigan and Bradford while Joe was at Bradford where he played for the under18s.”

Definitely on Wigan’s books at some point growing up, not necessarily the academy - probably means he qualifies as new talent... not that it’ll happen though.

He never played for Wigan academy, which was my point. I don't recall him ever being in the scholarship side either, it seems strange to be at three different clubs at scholarship level.

Wire def not as good as they think. When they played us at Huddersfield the other week, we had 7 players out and Wire got 3 very soft tries, plus we had a player binned for something he was cleared of, and they scored a try from that penalty. A bit better concentration they were there for the taking. I should feel positive about it if I were you.

No need to get aggy, the point was that he was involved with Wigan. The first quote is from the England RU website.

Quote ="Rogues Gallery"Only if he is replaced with a marquee that has come through as "club trained" otherwise any other will count as £175K on the cap. See section 5. https://www.rugby-league.com/flipbooks/ ... html#p=272'" What it actually says is a player who's salary cap value is £175k will be given an notional salary cap value of £150k. So I guess that means a player earning £170K will have a cap value of £170k. Clear as mud.

Quote ="Rogues Gallery"Only if he is replaced with a marquee that has come through as "club trained" otherwise any other will count as £175K on the cap. See section 5. https://www.rugby-league.com/flipbooks/ ... html#p=272'" What it actually says is a player who's salary cap value is £175k will be given an notional salary cap value of £150k. So I guess that means a player earning £170K will have a cap value of £170k. Clear as mud.

And then you wonder how clubs get into a tangle with the cap..I wonder how much it costs to police it too,in a cash poor sport surely better things to be spending money on?

It’s not that difficult really. All it requires is a basic excel spreadsheet.
As it’s a live cap it’s easy to confirm things with the RFL.

If my memory serves me well ( which there has to be some doubt about) I was listening to GMR RL hour last Thursday, I am pretty sure Trevot Hunt said it cost £2,000,000 last season to police this particular fiasco. Maybe someone else who listened in might confirm this or otherwise.

Rimmer and big Nigel Woods (on a consultancy basis) probably did it for a mil each.

Am certain his younger brother Joe was at Bradford, i know his Grandad sure he told me that. Before rugby union offered him a fortune and guaranteed him a place at heaton, dont think itbwas the one in bolton either.

Were Saints there for the taking as well?

Will IL break the cap to save Wigan aka what Whelan did with Fieldon now he knows he can manipulate the rfl around his little finger?