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Parramatta Eels' salary cap doesn't fit, shelling out more than $750,000 for departed

Messages
14,121
Souce : http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...0000-for-departed-players-20140717-zu4q4.html

SMH.com.au said:
Parramatta are shelling out more than $750,000 this season to players that are no longer at the club, contributing to a salary cap nightmare they admit leaves their hands tied when attracting big-name recruits to Pirtek Stadium.

While coach Brad Arthur has restored confidence following consecutive wooden spoons by piloting the Eels to the fringe of the top eight leading into Friday night's meeting with South Sydney, the situation on the club's books is grim and with no overnight fix.

As a result of bogus recruitment and retention decisions and back-ending of contracts, the Eels have only 21 players in their top-25 NRL roster and have no room to move under the $6.3 million salary cap.

The depth of the problem is outlined by the fact they are paying upwards of $750,000 this season to eight players – Reni Maitua (Canterbury), Jacob Loko (Canterbury) Daniel Harrison (Manly), Jordan Latham (Manly), Cheyse Blair (Manly), Jake Mullaney (Salford), Matt Ryan (Wakefield Trinity) and Brayden Wiliame (Newcastle) – who have left Parramatta.

The scenario is no brighter for next year, with the Eels already projected to be over the increased $6.55 million top-tier cap, a position which left them unable to re-sign veteran centre Willie Tonga and with no option but to offload Loko, who has been injury ravaged and had off-field issues.

Loko, 21, was to receive a huge pay rise from $130,000 this season to $440,000 in 2015 under his Parramatta contract, and the Eels will continue to contribute a significant portion to his salary at the Bulldogs next year.

A frustrated Parramatta chief executive Scott Seward said the cap dilemma would not be easily fixed.
''It highlights what a great job Brad has actually done with an absolutely compromised list. He doesn't have a top 25 to choose from, he only has a top 21, and that's not of his making,'' Seward said. ''He can't do much more than what he's doing.

''We're not in the position where we can go out and recruit much for next year either. That said, we've got a lot of faith in what wev'e got and what's coming through but we're going to be compromised again because of decisions made in the past.''

Parramatta's troubles extend to the $440,000 second-tier cap, under which they are still paying Blair and Wiliame and which counts registration termination payments for England-based Mullaney and Ryan.

With only 19 fit first-graders to pick from last weekend against the Warriors, who thrashed them 48-0, and NSW Origin fullback Jarryd Hayne rested, they had to ask the NRL for permission to play teenage debutant Tepai Moeroa because of their breach of the second-tier cap.

The Eels' predicament means veterans Fuifui Moimoi and Ben Smith won't be with them next season, and others such as winger Ken Sio will likely be on the way out.

The dire scenario will leave fans searching for culprits, and revisiting the notorious ''cleanout'' announcement by former head coach Ricky Stuart last year.

Seward, however, believes the seeds of Parramatta's botched roster were planted well before Stuart listed 10 unwanted names on an overhead projector 13 months ago, finding it mind-boggling the club was not able to cash in on cap space created by the retirements of legends Nathan Cayless (in 2010) and Nathan Hindmarsh and Luke Burt (in 2012).

''I think from an outside perspective you would have to question how the club could not have recruited players when they lost three high-profile club legends,'' Seward said. ''You take Hindmarsh, Cayless and Burt out of any salary cap list, you would have to presume there was a substantial amount of money that could have been spent on new talent. But there is not. That defies logic for me.

''We're probably still compromised in 2015 and we're only really coming out of it in 2016. That's not to say we're not going to be in the market but there's going to be some hard decisions that have to be made and you won't see the Eels out there having major splashes for marquee players because we just can't fit them in. And that's no one's fault but the club's. We're frustrated we can't take those big steps forward because we've got to fix the issues.''

So if it wasn't Stuart who was it ? Surely not SK?
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
84,172
Loko was re-signed last year.

Anyway it's all sensationalist bullshit. We only have a dozen players contracted for 2016, eleven if Mossop's option is in the club's favour:

De Gois
Edwards
Hunt
Mannah
Matterson
Ma'u
Mossop
Norman
Paulo (Junior)
Peats
Radradra
Toutai

We're doing pretty poorly if we're already near the $6.8M cap with this mob. It's not even half a squad.
 

jono

Juniors
Messages
2,194
Awesome Parra-bashing ......SNAFU
We lose three in a row and all of a sudden it's crisis time AGAIN!
To be placed equal seventh and still a chance of the finals with over two thirds of the season played would be more than any of us could have hoped for before a ball was kicked.
At this point if we can secure wins against Raiders (twice) Sharks and Newy that would put us at 28 points.....I'd be happy with that given the last three years of tripe
 

BennyBoy

Juniors
Messages
519
LOL, how the hell were we so close to signing Folou last year even BEFORE the purge if it was really that bad?
 

Pazza

First Grade
Messages
8,501
out of curiosity, how many players have we released mid contract in the last 5 years?

Mortimer
Finch
Horo
Loko
Harrison
Santi
E Tonga
Tautai
Rodgers
Ryan
Maitua

anymore?
 
Messages
4,980
out of curiosity, how many players have we released mid contract in the last 5 years?

Mortimer
Finch
Horo
Loko
Harrison
Santi
E Tonga
Tautai
Rodgers
Ryan
Maitua

anymore?

Not sure, but the secret to moving players on mid contract is getting it reported that the club WANTS to move them on, not HAS to move them on. Very little bargaining power when you appear to be down to your final option in terms of balancing your cap.

I've never understood the theory behind moving players on and paying half (for example) of their salary to play for another club anyway. false economy if you ask me.
 
Messages
4,980
I seriously doubt that the coach sets the amount players are to be paid. He would set out who he wants and the club would need to contract with each player.

I would say the blame for this is shared equally between Nolan, Edwards, Osborne and Bentley.

They'd have to have some say though. How would he structure his side, and even work out a recruitment strategy if he didn't give an amount that he wanted to pay for a new recruit.
 

eel01s

Bench
Messages
3,246
All this article tells me is that we are going to be VERY active in the player market next season for 2016.

Oh and that we were crap in managing the cap since at least 2009.
 
Messages
4,980
BA: " I want 2 back rowers, and a centre. Just some stop gappers in case of injury. Try Dean Halatau, Todd Lowrie and Blake Ayshford."

CEO two weeks later: "Done, we've just signed all three. All to 4 years, $800k/season deals.

BA: "f**k me, no wonder I'm bald and on the verge of a stroke".

Yep, that sounds about right.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
84,172
Pretty sure the article is referring to us be in the same situation for 2015 and coming out of the problem in 2016.

What 'problem' are we in for 2015? We have almost the same squad as this year, except all our young players will be a year older, stronger and more experienced.

As for this year, we were comfortably in the top eight before injury hit. We have better backs than most clubs. There's nothing wrong with our squad this year or next year, and in 2016 it will be even better.
 
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