From The Canberra Times
Raiders in crisis control: Talent-spotting and junior development still the key
Rugby league By Bevan Hannan
Sunday, 18 July 2004
Canberra Raiders' stalwarts were reminded of a classic scene from Crocodile Dundee when it was suggested the Green Machine was a rugby league club in crisis last week.
The scenario of three departing players Ruben Wiki, Luke Davico and Joel Monaghan was akin to the New York mugger pulling a blade on Paul Hogan in the famous flick.
"That's not a crisis," the Raiders' old-guard were heard muttering. "This is a crisis."
Of course, they were referring to the genuine turmoil that engulfed the Raiders in 1991. Salary cap breaches, crippling financial shortfalls and the all-star playing stocks having to be re-signed as the club rebuilt its roster from scratch.
It was a time of high emotion and rallying support as the community dug deep to donate $200,000 to the Rescue a Raider fund. But it didn't stop losing names like Glenn Lazarus, Brent Todd, David Barnhill and Nigel Gaffey to rival clubs.
The pain suffered by the Raiders in the crazy post July 1 trading period is just a blip compared to the events that was the major scandal in the game 13 years ago.
While the player drain is clearly a concern for fans of clubs like Newcastle and Canberra, the most perplexing aspect of the silly season is not so much what has been said. It's what hasn't been said.
Talkback callers haven't been backward in expressing their bemusement about how clubs like Canberra go within a couple of hundred dollars of their $3.5 million salary cap with a squad that has only one automatic selection in representative teams. Yet other clubs manage to squeeze a host of high profile players in their 25-man squads.
In the wake of the Canterbury Bulldogs being exposed for breaking the salary cap two years ago, the fans look upon other clubs with suspicion and ask the question, "is it really a level playing field?".
The NRL points to the stern action taken against the Bulldogs as the precedent. It would investigate any evidence of manipulation or rorting. But how could it enforce a situation where wealthy benefactors decided to provide "gifts" to players or their family members on top of their NRL contracts? The type of "gifts" that have no paper trail that can be linked to their NRL payments?
NRL chief executive David Gallop was even questioned this week about rumours that player agents were being tempted with incentive payments from clubs. Gallop said there was no evidence of such activity but it would be investigated if any arose. He went on to say that one of the key tasks on the NRL agenda was establishing an accreditation system for player managers.
The player feeding frenzy in recent weeks has been at the top end of the scale. Players like Canberra's Ruben Wiki and Newcastle's Ben Kennedy received massive offers to join New Zealand and Manly respectively.
The reason Manly and New Zealand have been so active at the high end is due to holding back a chunk of their salary cap money this year and deferring it to sign players for next year - a practice known as "parking". In response to this the NRL will introduce a salary floor in 2005, requiring clubs to spend at least $3 million each year and thus preventing clubs stashing as much money in a warchest.
Canberra certainly struggled to match strides with the big-spenders. In some instances it was blown away.
For example, the Raiders offered Wiki $250,000 a season and he received around double from the Warriors. St George forward Brent Kite was approached with a similar amount, but the Sea Eagles paid him in the vicinity of $380,000. And its understood Canberra was a six-figure sum shy of what Melbourne's Matt Orford was commanding.
Wiki's departure was a setback to Canberra. But the loss of local junior Joel Monaghan was more so. It was clear there were tensions between the Raiders and Mongahan's manager Jim Banaghan. After Monaghan announced his signing with the Roosters, Banaghan criticised the Raiders' inability to attract players.
However, player managers Sam Ayoub (Storm's David Kidwell) and David Phillips (Brisbane's Craig Frawley) have spoken highly of the Raiders. Frawley is odds-on to sign with Canberra in the next few days.
The other three players who have already left or are exiting to England at the end of the year - Luke Davico, Brad Drew and James Evans - were granted releases by the Raiders. It would be reasonable to assume if they were part of the Raiders plans, they would never have been let go.
It is interesting to look back at the Raiders recruiting record since Brisbane and Newcastle were admitted in 1988.
Canberra has purchased just 35 players from other clubs with first grade experience in that 16-year period. Of those only five - Clinton Schifcofske, Paul Osborne, Michael Hodgson, Sean Rutgerson, Brandon Costin - went on to play more than 50 top grade appearances in Raiders' colours.
The Raiders have enjoyed most success raising their own or identifying new talent like John Lomax, Noa Nadruku, Lesley Vainikolo and Wiki. Based on recent events that will remain the way for the future.
