Looks like the superstar that is Sonny Bill Williams will be gracing the KCOM pitch next season, just a shame he will be using the away dressing room!

On a serious note what a signing, not just for Toronto but for Rugby League in this country. Whatever your opinions on the Wolfpack you can’t deny their owner has really put his money where his mouth is and I am all for it!

I am very much looking forward to seeing us make a move for Benji Marshall next season!

£2.6m a year, makes a mockery of the salary cap. I just hope he does better for Toronto than Willie Mason did for KR.

How does it make a mockery of it? The marquee rule was brought in for this reason, and if they choose to pay him that much, it is their decision. It has brought more exposure to the game from sources that don't typically report on RL, than any other story.

The cap was designed to level the playing field, not to allow a team with a wealthy benefactor sign half an NRL squad and play in SL. (in my view, anyway)

I agree.
So only £150,000 a season goes on the cap from £2,500,000


How many Marquee players is a team allowed?
Plus if they stay, a Super League owner may well see the demise of his own club.

The huge wedge Williams is to receive will be an inescapable irony as he lines up against cash-strapped clubs, whose financial woes epitomise the constant struggles suffered throughout a British league scene that too often finds itself on its knees, crying out for recognition when years of mismanagement have led to some of Super League's mainstays facing extinction This is not a dig at Williams, because league in the UK needs all the publicity it can get and his superstar profile will only boost interest in the competition, but it sums up how desperate things are when a sport relies on some bored businessmen from the other side of the planet to open their wallets. The 34-year-old Williams, who barely made it to his third Rugby World Cup this year after struggling desperately with injuries to his battered but brawny body, will be one of the Wolfpack's two marquee players under the Super League's ruling where clubs are allowed to count just the first £150,000 (NZ$302,850) of any nominated player's wage towards their salary cap. When the rule was introduced after clubs voted in favour of it in 2015, they were allowed one nominated player but it has since been extended to two and could certainly be increased again .... If you want to read it all... https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/11 ... ontroversy

The huge wedge Williams is to receive will be an inescapable irony as he lines up against cash-strapped clubs, whose financial woes epitomise the constant struggles suffered throughout a British league scene that too often finds itself on its knees, crying out for recognition when years of mismanagement have led to some of Super League's mainstays facing extinction This is not a dig at Williams, because league in the UK needs all the publicity it can get and his superstar profile will only boost interest in the competition, but it sums up how desperate things are when a sport relies on some bored businessmen from the other side of the planet to open their wallets. The 34-year-old Williams, who barely made it to his third Rugby World Cup this year after struggling desperately with injuries to his battered but brawny body, will be one of the Wolfpack's two marquee players under the Super League's ruling where clubs are allowed to count just the first £150,000 (NZ$302,850) of any nominated player's wage towards their salary cap. When the rule was introduced after clubs voted in favour of it in 2015, they were allowed one nominated player but it has since been extended to two and could certainly be increased again .... If you want to read it all... https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/11 ... ontroversy

The mockery is that most teams will operate the sesson on less than he getting for one year

It’s got non rugby league people talking about the game though, (whatever the rights and wrongs of his salary), which the current incumbent clubs have been unable to do.

Great signing well done Toronto we need more marquee players in Super League

why?

Its a crazy amount of money for any player but it is only one player. Its not like they have dispensation to buy half a team.

They aren't buying him because of what he can do on the field. He won't be anywhere near the best player in SL. They are paying this money because they want the exposure and a genuine big name who they can market. They could have gone and got Jason Taumalolo for that money. But the average Toronto sports fan wouldn't know him. The average Toronto sports fan would however be very familiar with the All Blacks. SBW is a name that transcends the sport and as a former All Black and world cup winner he is hugely marketable.

It also has a benefit to the league as a whole. More exposure and column inches equals more interest from sponsors and TV companies. And having a genuine superstar playing is going to put more bums on seats at all the games he plays in. Not just their home games.

If they have the money and are prepared to spend it then they should be encouraged. Its just a shame other teams don't have the resources to do similar.

Its a quiet time for news and raining like hell here so here are my thoughts on this thorny subject

I think the last post is a fair appraisal of what has happened but I also take on board the other points that have been raised here for it is certainly turning out to be a bit of a marmite issue as far as fans are concerned. The same of course will go for Clubs as well. Some who seem to have failed to change much their approach to audience building since the start of Super league will sit on their hands shake their heads and get their I told you so's ready for when it fails.

However, I would hope that others more forward thinking (like the two Hull Clubs try to be) will see it as an opportunity and although unable to invest at such levels themselves they will look to keep the momentum and hype this move has created going.

Like it or not, it’s a massive opportunity to kick start things for 2020, get some hype going and build the profile of the games top Division. I was never for the Toronto thing in the first place and still think that to have two teams outside the country of origin in a league of just 12 is ludicrous. However, they came in, won promotion fairly and squarely and so ethically they must take their place in Super League.

I think too that the Canadian Club realise that this is far more than a move to improve them on the field for they will never get their investment back, from ‘a banged up 34-year-old’.



But they have just the same signed probably one of the most iconic and recognisable players in the game and done it not just to raise their profile as a club, but also the profile of the game in North America, the sport of rugby League and the name of Super league worldwide. One Diary reader told me that his move had been featured in the media in Malaysia last week!!!

Their owner should be commended for that! Not bad for a bloke who has been told that he will not be getting any of his share of the Sky money and who will have to contribute to the costs of every teams travel to Canada next season (and no doubt have to put up a bond if he ever wants his team to enter the Challenge Cup). He doesn't seem to bare many grudges does he?



It’s not so much the signing that is significant now but how as a game we capitalise on the opportunity and exposure it presents. It’s the first big test of Elstone and Co’s ability to put their money where their mouth is and capitalise on such selling opportunities. But, will it ignite a change in the fortunes of the game, or just be another addition to the ever increasing dustbin of Rugby leagues missed opportunities???? That for me is down to how as a game we run with it and only time will tell on that one.

Good post completely agree with this

It’s a fantastic signing for Super League. The more superstars in our league the more the profile of our game will increase, and SBW is the biggest star in Super League

Seeing as SBW is coming from union salary doesn’t count on cap; same as Ratu Naulago

You're nearly right as he hasn't played league for 5 years (2014), so qualifies on that ruling, but only a 50% reduction, down to £75k.

He'll be there on the marquee ruling. The returning player dispensation allows 50% off the cap of the players salary. £2.6m reported yearly salary would only reduce it to £1.3m, still a huge chunk of the cap. Marquee ruling allows his cap wage to be reduced to £150,000 a year.

Try again, way off the mark.

Ok, thanks for the enlightenment.

My apologies, you're absolutely right - the rules talk about "salary cap value", which in his case is 50% of his salary. If that is more than £175k, he's classed as a marquee player and his salary cap value is reduced to £150k.

Odd that a player on £170k has a cap value of £170k.

Clubs are allowed 2 marquee players, this isn’t new it’s been around for a while now