Raiders already under salary-cap pressure in 07

[Chachi]

I agree that on the surface it could be a bit risky, but it is certainly working for Melbourne right now.

In some way it will be good thing in that our salary cap payments will be more focussed on quality over quantity - which is what we will need to do anyway if we're going to hold onto the likes of Carney, Zillman, Dobson, TLL, Costigan, Picker, Goodwin, Weyman, Tilse etc etc etc long term.

Of course there is the risk of destroying your season if you cop a few injuries because we'll have less depth - but in 99% of cases the premiership contenders are those teams which suffer few injuries anyway.

If you look at it another way, having links with QLD cup and Jim Beam cup teams mean that we can attract young QLD and Sydney based players to the Raiders by easing them into the club via a more local team.

That's my hope anyway.

 

[Homer's Bowling Ball]

They could look at having each player affiliated with a team in the local comp, if the player isn’t in the squad that week they could play for their local team. E.g. Campo is from Queanbeyan, he could play for the Queanbeyan Blues if not in the first grade squad. Likewise with Troy Thompson with Belconnen. Would give a boost to the local teams and raise the profile of the Canberra Raiders cup competition, and the players wouldn’t have to travel away each weekend.

 

[Raidersrawesome]

Problem with this and the whole U20 thing is the standard of the other comps like QLD cup , Jim Beam and the Canberra local comp. We need these guys playing close to the NRL standard and thats not going to happen andI cant see too many over 20 fringe players staying around in the NRL , can you really imagine a player like Thommo coming back from injury playing in the local comp.I cant see it been beneficial at all IMO

 

[Chachi]

I wouldn't be surprised if the age limit was increased to Under 23's some time in the near future or possibly for there to be a system like the Olympic soccer where you get a limited number of over aged players per team (although this is unlikely if the age limit stays at under 21's).

 

[azza]

I agree, I think it's a ridiculous decision to abandon the PL in favour of an U20's competition... FFS, so many players nowadays only become fit (physically and skill wise) to play NRL level in their early to mid-early 20's. IMO it should be an under 23's comp or an under 25's because there is going to be an even more massive gap between first grade and lower grades next year.

 

[legend]

The decision not to field a PL team is going to be an unmitigated disaster for the Raiders.

There will be at least 2-3 players who will not be playing every week as some will need to be on standby for the first grade team and can't be dropped back to reserve grade when the makeup of the final seventeen has been decided.

On the surface this looks like a very bad idea.

 

[Sydney_Raider]

What I can't understand is how the changes all went through with what appears little opposition. I believe it was the brainchild of Denis Fitzgerald, need I say more. I must admit I am usually at the club until shortly before kick off in the main game but still think Premier League is needed. Will be happy to be proven wrong on this one, I have already been wrong on Monday Night Football, didn't like the idea at first but now enjoy it.

 

[woodgers]

Well it will be terrible for a lot of the hardcore fans like the ones on here. We have great delight in picking players who may be a shot at 1st grade and who have been in form and ready to step up. The under 20's will more or less be a way to get selected in our Souths Logan side now! What good is that, if say Graham gets injured, how the bloody hell will we know if Brad Cross or Sau have been performing in our feeder club? Disasterous. I used to love the Presidents Cup, Reserves then Firsts playing, it was great. Now we have a ridiculous scenario and a lower standard game before the main game. What incentive is there to turn up early?

 

[legend]

It seems like a cost cutting exercise from the club and I can't understand the logic behind this at all.

 

[Edwahu]

It does have its upsides. The QLD cup is arguably a higher standard then premier league and will almost certainly be a higher standard then whatever they end up with in NSW next year. It will also strengthen our standing in QLD and abillity to recruit up there.

 

[legend]

One of the upsides we have now is I think people want to play under Henry and they know he is the brains behind Qld.

On Wed night, he was theone giving the players instructions while Mal stood there an listened. It's one of the reasons we've been linked with Petero Civ IMO.

There also seems to be better qaulity players coming through the Qld system than NSW so there may be some merit in what you say Ed.

 

[steven_tiger]

They would be crazy to let Sau go.

He is a monster.

With some consistancy and the right attitude he'll go far.

 

[Mal Meninga]

They would be crazy to let Sau go.

He is a monster.

With some consistancy and the right attitude he'll go far.

That's the problem with the new U20 comp. Players like Sau will be at the cross-roads because 1) Backs are rarely on the bench and 2) He's got stiff competition as we've got such a young squad. If he wants to stick it out at QLD Cup while being on our books that'd be OK but he'll probably want a crack at first grade.

 

[colonel_123]

Problem with this and the whole U20 thing is the standard of the other comps like QLD cup , Jim Beam and the Canberra local comp. We need these guys playing close to the NRL standard and thats not going to happen andI cant see too many over 20 fringe players staying around in the NRL , can you really imagine a player like Thommo coming back from injury playing in the local comp.I cant see it been beneficial at all IMO

This problem isn't the fault of the new Under 20's comp but of the decision by the Canberra management to not field a team in the premier league equivalent comp next year.

To clear things up, premier league is NOT being abolished by the NSWRL next year.

There will continue to be a second tier, open age comp run by the NSWRL, it might not be called premier league any more but it will be the equivalent of premier league. (This comp will not be the Jim Beam Cup, the Jim Beam Cup will remain a separate comp)

NRL clubs will continue to field teams in this comp, made up of players not in their Under 20's side and not in the top 17 on match day.

If Canberra have chosen to not field a side in this comp that's their decision and it's not the fault of the Under 20's comp.