Rooster Cogburn. said:
So the big, bad Roosters are threatening legal action! How dare they, the arrogance of them. How dare they look after their own interests, How dare they protect their club and How dare they invest in their own future.
I have never come across a profit making organisation that doesn't look after it's own interests.
We should all get one thing straight here. The Salary cap IS a restraint of trade, The NRL has even admitted as much. Anyone who calls the Roosters arrogant are wrong. It's the NRL that is arrogant. How dare they tell clubs how much money they can spend on players. It would be like telling Rupert Murdoch that he can't spend $500 million buying a newspaper company because Al Bronkawicz down the road only has $100 million and that would be unfair.
The NRL can avoid a court case by simply raising the cap for season 2005. It's up to them. And for all of you fools out there who are calling for the Roosters head, wake up to yourself. Easts shouldn't and won't feel responsible for any other club other than their own and why should they.
Did St George and Souths or Manly and Parramatta or Brisbane give a rat's arse about the Roosters when they were top of the pile? Of course they didn't. Denis Fitzgerald is critical of anything the Roosters do because he's jealous of them and for Steve "Turdy" Mortimer to be critical of the Roosters is laughable! It would be like Saddam Hussein taking someone to task over human rights issues.
As far as the Roosters developing our own juniors goes then it's a bit difficult when SG Ball in his capacity as president of the NSWRL gave his beloved Souths most of Easts rightful areas back in the 50's. Maybe the NRL should right the ship and give Easts back suburbs like Randwick and Coogee, then The Roosters will be able to develop more local juniors and quite rightly call them their own. As it stands the borders are ridiculously unfair.
News Ltd and it's lackey journos have put the boot into Easts for it's stance but those of us who are over 15 can well remember that it was Murdoch and his News Ltd who tried to destroy the competition back in the 90's. Where was their regard for struggling clubs when the war started? For them to wax lyrical about player payment restrictions is mind blowing.
How would News have gone if they had to operate under a salary cap when they were recruiting for Sewer League. I can picture them now saying to Brad Clyde and Ricky Stuart, "Sorry guys we can only offer you $50,000 to come over to us, It's because of the cap you know!".
So all of you who want to attack the Roosters and thousands of you will, do so at the risk of your own hypocricy. Easts WILL WIN this case if it goes to court and if the NRL has half a brain they will bite the bullet and do the right and proper thing by raising the Salary Cap for season 2005. The ball is in david Gallop's court!
