This is for you Bomber......
O'Meley slams Mason's NRL salary claim
Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 7:14 PM
Bulldogs enforcer Mark O'Meley has rubbished claims from teammate Willie Mason that the minimum salary for NRL players should be $120,000.
The minimum salary for NRL players has been bumped up from about $37,000 to $50,000 this season, but Mason this week said rugby league generated enough revenue to more than double that amount to $120,000.
O'Meley, however, has warned raising the figure too high could have detrimental affect on the game and prompt young players to take it too easy.
"If I was getting $120,000 a year coming into first grade I probably wouldn't push myself too hard to exceed to the next level," O'Meley said.
"You've still got to earn your stripes I believe.
"We got that lifted from $37,000, so that's been pretty good. And I think $50,000 is a fair starting point.
"If they do play a lot of first grade and there are injuries, maybe they should be exemptions brought in, but that's probably a different matter."
O'Meley, who is the Bulldogs delegate from the Rugby League Professionals Association, welcomed the decision for the NRL to open its books to players in the coming weeks, but stressed players had to start taking more notice about what was going on in the game.
"We have meetings all the time here and if you pay attention you understand what's going on," he said.
"But a lot of the guys don't understand, they just nod their heads and agree, and it doesn't sink in.
"I just think some (players) don't pay attention and some do.
"You probably look at their lifestyles... people that are more structured and they understand because they want to learn. Whereas other people are just cruisey and don't take notice.
"I suppose we've seen that this week, we've got to probably educate the players a bit better."
On Mason's comments this week, which included a warning from the Test forward that players could strike during the State of Origin series over the salary cap, O'Meley said: "I don't take too much notice of what Will says, it's always a headline and I don't put too much thought into what he said."
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have taken a leaf out of American sport and dedicated the club's No.18 jersey to their fans.
The number will no longer be worn by any player at the NRL club, with a giant No.18 jersey to be on display in the crowd at all Bulldogs home games.
Bulldogs chief executive Malcolm Noad said the idea came from the club's recent trip to the United States, where sport's like American football often refer to teams fans as the 12th man.
The club also unveiled a giant, inflatable, Bulldogs head, which the players will run out from at home games.
The Bulldogs host the Gold Coast Titans at Telstra Stadium on Sunday where the club will also honour more than 200 former players as part of their legends week festivities.
