The salary cap structure needed changing anyway, it just happens to be Sam's contract that is the first one to be affected by it. The sport has sat on it's hands with respect to the SC for too long and as a result top players such as Ashton, Eastmond and now Joel Tomkins are no longer RL players.

Ashton hasnt been missed at all has he.As for Eastmond...look at Lomax and Gaskell,both would have been bigger losses and Tomkins wont be missed either.

Just as Phil says

Your opinions, though not really the point. The point is union came calling and the RL clubs were powerless to stop them from moving. Now there is a new system in place where teams can keep try to fight off RU and keep hold of their best players.

You mean like club GB...That was brought in when Union was knocking round Radlinski and Cunningham and they was the only 2 that "joined" it.....If it can be applied to every club then fine and dandy,well have briscoe tied up on a similar deal then but you know what the RL are like with certain clubs.

Care to elaborate?

You'd hope so, we need to keep all of our best players in the right sport. With the imminent rise of the NRL salary cap we're not going to be able to bring any top class oversees players so it is vital we keep hold of the best youngsters.

Totally agree and we need to raise our cap accordingley.

I completely agreed with what you said.

Nice avatar by the way.

How do we know he hasn't been missed? For all we know it could be in him in Tomkins' shoes right now leading the England team.

England has a good basis to become a great sided that could compete with the Aussies every year.

Tomkins
Briscoe
Read
Hall
Widdop
Graham
Roby
Burgess
Ellis

Apart from Ellis you could build a side around these player for the next 5 years or so.

Halfbacks still a bit of a problem, but hopefully this will improve with the likes of Gaskell and Lomax.

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that yawnion is to bring in an exempt rule where clubs are allowed to have one player exempt from the salary cap, thus making it easier to lure young league players

Im behind him and England 100% Saturday

That's correct.
Chris Ashton would certainly have strengthened this England squad as would Kyle Eastmond.

I'd agree with Eastmond given his future potential & performances before his injuries, Ashton I'm not convinced. I'd have Briscoe & Hall in front any day.

Ashton is a winger or a full back. Which one of Tomkins, Briscoe or Hall would he replace? Eastmond probably wouldn't even have made the train on squad.

Ashton to fb, tomkins to 6, eastmond (the in form one not the one who's spent the last year pricking about) at 7.

That would be superb.

tomkins is a fullback

I did say squad. btw Ashton played a lot of his academy rugby at centre.

It's only two years go that Eastmond and Tomkins were the halfbacks v Australia and caused them all sorts of problems.

People are judging eastmond on 2011 which isn't representative of his ability