By Cameron Smith
June 13, 2009 Amid all the madness and hysteria surrounding the swine flu "outbreak" in the NRL, I fear one of the more important and genuinely concerning stories in our game has drifted by almost unnoticed.
Joseph Tomane is not a household name. But it is a name all rugby league fans should remember.
Last weekend he treated everyone to a glimpse of the potential we at Melbourne Storm have seen building for the past two years.
At 19 and with only nine NRL games to his name, he was absolutely sensational against Brisbane Broncos and finished the night with a hat-trick of tries.
He also slotted six conversions covering for this tired, old bloke who normally kicks the goals. I told him I am taking the job back this week.
The kid is going to be a star one day. Sadly for us, when he does reach the heights I believe he can in this game, he won't be wearing the purple of the Melbourne Storm after Gold Coast Titans signed him on a two-year deal that we just couldn't match due to the constraints of the salary cap.
It is the third time in less than a year we have had to farewell one of our brightest talents.
First it was Israel Folau, who left to join the Broncos. Earlier this year, his replacement, Will Chambers, was poached by Queensland Reds and now Joe is heading north to catch some extra sun on the Gold Coast.
As a captain of the club, I have to admit it is a bitter pill to swallow and it again raises the issue of the lack of incentives or rewards there are for clubs to invest in the development of junior talent.
This is an issue that is obviously a hot topic at the Storm at the moment, but in no way are we the only ones affected.
In the past seven days, both St George Illawarra and Sydney Roosters have been dealt a similar blow, with Justin Poore and Shane Shackleton agreeing to terms with Parramatta.
Judging by the comments from the respective clubs, these were blokes they didn't want to lose. Both have come through their systems and have this year become representative players.
Now all that time, effort and money appears to have been for nothing. The Eels will be the recipient of all their hard work and what do the Dragons and Roosters get in return? Nothing. It is something the powers that be have to again look at.
Don't get me wrong. I am the first to acknowledge the salary cap has done a wonderful job in creating an even and exciting competition. You only need to look at the quality of football played across the board to see the impact it has had.
But I believe the time has come to again look at the configuration of the cap.
With the creation of the Toyota Cup competition, these young blokes are more readily seen and vulnerable to rival clubs than ever before.
Already we have seen certain clubs winding back their investment in junior development and the NRL has to take action to avoid things deteriorating to a point where clubs just decide the reward for investment is no longer there.
Whenever these sorts of topics come up the comment is made that it is easy to say there is a problem without offering any solution.
While I certainly don't profess to have all the answers, I know there are enough smart people in and around our game to come up with a way to address this issue.
One idea I did hear which, at the very least, sounded interesting, was a proposal that the salary cap be reduced and only cover players who you have brought to your club from another. Any player you have brought up through your junior development system is not included in the quota.
At the other end, I am also a strong advocate for greater salary cap exemptions for long-serving players.
I look at what Craig Bellamy and the administration team have done here in creating an environment players enjoy being a part of. We have a group of guys who have been together a long time.
It seems unfair the club would end up being punished as we get older for engendering the sort of loyalty rugby league has long been based on.
