Knightsrebuild - time to do something.

[macavity]

Don't agree with this logic.

Let's say Bord Cordner wanted to move home to Newcastle. We offer him $700k a year, and a club like the Warriors who he'd never want to move to offer $1mn. Should we be forced to pay him $300k extra under our cap?

If all clubs value a player in the $650k-$750k range and then one outlier desperate club(like us) offers $1mn, I don't think the rest of the clubs should have to match our offer.

Too many ways to exploit this rule as well I think.

The TPA's we all agree on.

It's very easy to set a standard - say a % of the offer.

It would be understandable if he signed with Brisbane for $50k less a year. Not $250k a year.

We either ban TPAs, or apply a market value test.

Or watch the NRL become like the premier league - which no one except fans of 3-4 clubs wants.

 

[slotmachine]

Bird is obviously not forgoing 300k a year because he has a TPA. If we presume this TPA is from a Brisbane area business it would only be worthwhile for them to offer it to him if he is playing for the Broncos. The NRL can hardly take exception to that.

If Andrew Gee gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar and nothing comes of it due to a qlder omerta how are the NRL going to prove that this TPA for Bird to promote a residential development or whatever it is isn't legit? This is the same organisation who can't even set a salary cap.

Instead of complaining about we need to get in the TPA game like everyone else. The only really uncompetitive sides are the three owned or propped up by the NRL. What happened to McGuigans millions of dollars of tpas that were ready for this season? Gone the way of the magic beans perhaps.

 

[macavity]

Bird is obviously not forgoing 300k a year because he has a TPA. If we presume this TPA is from a Brisbane area business it would only be worthwhile for them to offer it to him if he is playing for the Broncos. The NRL can hardly take exception to that.

If Andrew Gee gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar and nothing comes of it due to a qlder omerta how are the NRL going to prove that this TPA for Bird to promote a residential development or whatever it is isn't legit? This is the same organisation who can't even set a salary cap.

It is easy to establish whether the TPA constituted an inducement to sign with a club.

 

[slotmachine]

Prove it.

The Broncos can introduce bird and his manager to a prospective TPA provider 100% legitimately under current rules.

 

[macavity]

Prove it.

The Broncos can introduce bird and his manager to a prospective TPA provider 100% legitimately under current rules.

His market value was well established by an offer on the table.

Bird accepted significantly less to sign with the Broncos.

He amazingly ended up with a TPA at exactly the same time to make up the difference (or bump him above).

I have a bridge to sell you.

 

[slotmachine]

Andrew Gee disappears with 300k. Missing money mysteriously reappears. NRL investigation met with "no comment". Nothing happens.

It's not what you know, it's what you can prove

 

[macavity]

Andrew Gee disappears with 300k. Missing money mysteriously reappears. NRL investigation met with "no comment". Nothing happens.

It's not what you know, it's what you can prove

You assume the NRL has to abide by due process and rules of evidence. The HIA fines illustrate this is not the case.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

TBF the salary cap was never really meant to even the comp up, it was just to stop the clubs spending their OWN money and sending themselves broke...

Honestly, if there is a city of 2million people with only 1 team and more TPAs than one club can even use while there are 9 teams crammed into sydney or a team in a city that cant even seem to support 1, the solution seems pretty clear.

And if the ARLC wants to keep teams in strategic locations (like Newcastle) then they will need to support us to keep us competiive

Seems pretty simple to me...

 

[Knight76]

All good discussion, but in the end pointless until the NRL decides they are going to clamp down on TPA's. Which they won't. The Roy Masters article on Gee was from 2014. Nothing happened.

Bird clearly signed with Brisbane for some money on the cap, and the rest as a TPA. The NRL register the TPA's so can easily put two and two together. But thats a long way from taking a stance accusing the Broncos of cheating the salary cap. Where is the proof, beyond just putting two and two together!

Then you have the "Market value" idea. No chance the NRL will implement it. They already state a player can play wherever the like and will do so for less money for various reasons.

I even feel the NRL has a nerve sending the dogs a letter asking how they can sign players and fit them in the cap! Essentially, the NRL have sent a letter asking how they can fit in players that have not even officially signed, in to a cap that the NRL has only made the first offer to the RLPA and is still being decided on.

It's unfortunate for us, but the NRL seem happy to sit by and watch this stuff happen. As long as the TV deal keeps getting bigger!

 

[macavity]

There is a point, change will only come if the fans demand it. Give it a few more years and we won't be the only club in this sort of position.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

There is a point, change will only come if the fans demand it. Give it a few more years and we won't be the only club in this sort of position.

I dont think so....

If one or two sydney teams start to fall behind the rest and start compaining about how there arent enough TPAs in sydney and there are too many in Brisbne, the obvious responce from the ARLC will be "ok, move to Brisbane..."

 

[macavity]

So they give up on Canberra, Newcastle, Gold Coast, maybe even NQ once Thurston is gone?

The ARLC needs to decide what their purpose is - grow the game (which parity does) or grow the income of those at the very very top.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The clubs are lazy and just want the Arlc to do everythin for them...

Sometimes they can force the Arlc to do what they want, but only when all of the clubs are united.

When it is club vs club (as TPA reform would be), the haves will clearly beat the have-nots.

And honeslty, a bit of market based inequality isnt such a bad thing. It would force teams o go where they are wanted...

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

So they give up on Canberra, Newcastle, Gold Coast, maybe even NQ once Thurston is gone?

The ARLC needs to decide what their purpose is - grow the game (which parity does) or grow the income of those at the very very top.

Yeh, thats where the free-market fails. But im fairly sure the ARLC is fine with us being uncompetitive as long as we turn up to lose...

If there were in danger of losing these strategic locations then maybe they will act for us.

But short of us threatening to leave, i dont think they care if we are uncompetitive...

 

[slotmachine]

Not going to lose Newcastle to the AFL so don't need a team here.

Canberra are doing just fine btw, they worked out the TPA business nicely. Cowboys too with their discount apartment racket.

You can be small market, poor, but not both.

 

[Johns Magic]

Interesting from Paul Kent:

As the Knights continue to struggle to attract and land big signatures, a startling conspiracy theory has emerged regarding off-field management.

As the Knights are currently owned by the NRL after significant financial struggles, there are claims there is more going on behind the scenes.

"My understanding is that the Wests Leagues club up there (in Newcastle) is very interested," Kenty said.

"There's a bit of a conspiracy rumour that the NRL is putting the slows on selling the Knights because while ever they currently own the Knights, they have the Knights vote at board level when the clubs are trying to manoeuvre to get certain people sacked.

"So that's the conspiracy on why the NRL is moving slow on getting rid of the Knights when most people are of the understanding that Wests Leagues club - which is very successful - is now in a position where they want to buy the club. But that's happening at snail's pace.

"I feel sorry for the Knights, because they're a proud club and they're always the underdog club. They pride themselves on that. But at some point, things have got to change."

https://www.triplem.com.au/sport/nr...this-knights-conspiracy-theory?station=sydney

 

[Alex28]

That wouldn't surprise me at all...

 

[Spot On]

No surprise at all. Quite plausible with the people at NRL headquarters. Joint is farce and a mess and is destroying the growth of the sport.

 

[Pedge1971]

Def not surprised if this is true. The rumour for a while is Brown and Mooney have been very frustrated with the time the NRL has taken as our owner to approve the amount of offers we want to go out and make to players.

Makes an already difficult recruitment situation even more difficult.

 

[Haffa]

Greenberg and co trying to keep their jobs at the expense of us? Never....