Club bosses say Roosters plea is a joke
August 25, 2004 - 4:24PM
National Rugby League club chief executives have labelled the Sydney Roosters' bid to gain salary cap concessions as a joke.
"There's a million unemployed comedians and they're trying to be funny," says Souths chief executive Shane Richardson.
"It's a bit of a joke. Every club has its own nuances and claims to a whole range of concessions.
"I don't think it will take very long to knock the Roosters back."
The Roosters board will meet on Thursday to discuss asking the NRL for cap concessions to compensate for the high cost of living in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
"Are we going to have 15 different salary caps?" asked Wests Tigers boss Steve Noyce.
"Should the Tigers be given concessions for being a joint venture club?
"I don't believe any club should be getting special concessions."
The NRL has already rejected cap concessions for Melbourne to off-set accommodation costs for its players, but Storm chief executive Frank Stanton said the club would keep fighting.
"The view of the Melbourne Storm hasn't changed and we'll be reapplying for those concessions once again," said Stanton.
He added he would only be concerned about the Roosters if they were granted cap concessions, reported to be in the vicinity of $200,000, but NRL chief executive David Gallop has said it's "highly unlikely".
North Queensland chief executive Dennis Keeffe said the salary cap was working and should be the same for all 15 clubs.
"If the NRL decides to shift the salary cap, it should be the same for everybody," he argued.
"I think the salary cap is starting to work well. It equalises the talent and acts as a control mechanism for clubs."
Keeffe questioned the motives of the Roosters considering the club's player depth and quality of roster.
"They've recruited some class players and retained most of their better players," said Keeffe.
"They've got a fairly good Jersey Flegg side and this is from a club which has no juniors playing in their area.
"Full credit to them for trying though."
Dragons boss Peter Doust fears the salary cap would become even more complex if special concessions were granted to the Roosters.
"It's developing like the Tax Act," said Doust.
"If we continue to allow concessions for every club's specific issues or differences, we'll finish up with a very complex administration document.
"I understand where they're (the Roosters) coming from but I don't think there's much chance of concessions on that basis."
Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan has played down the controversy, saying it was a minor issue among many that would be raised at the board meeting.
"The major issue is improving benefits for our players in a very general sense," said Canavan, whose board refuses to endorse the Players Association's historic Collective Bargaining Agreement.
"We think the CBA is somewhat restrictive in the way it is presented."
