I think with all the focus on particular clubs and how they can do it/afford it and salary caps changes etc, we are missing out on the key element that makes this all take place - players and their managers trying to extract the very top dollar they can from anywhere they can.
Sure, that's their entitlement to do so, but it kind of shows you what type of people these guys are, and how much their current club and loyalty and satisfaction etc mean to them. Obviously great players that we should try to keep, but within reason. We have to operate and pay a squad as a whole, and have that as balanced as can be within what we can afford and what the rules lay down.
Players deserve an increase when they've achieved at higher levels eg rep selection, stepping up a grade, constant selection and performance etc. But if the players and managers are trying to extract maximum coin just for the sake of it, then in my opinion there's a limit to how much higher as a club we should try to follow the demands. If it means we lose the more greedy players after a few years of good service, then we and other clubs just have to wear that.
It seems players like Tahu and PJ left because they wanted different challenges (eg code swap, more game time/starting etc) more so than it being purely about the money. Anyone that's not prepared to do what's best for their (current) team/club as part of their personality (eg Willie) is setting themselves up to be someone who becomes of the outer of their club and who won't succeed in getting the increase they desire unless they head elsewhere anyway.
Whether Hayne and his manager (is it Manoa?) fall into this category is debatable. But I hope not, but the longer it takes them to commit to a decent offer from his current club that he should be happy with, the more it looks like he's just following the Joey Johns model of being a money hungry grub trying to extract the most for himself to the detriment of others in his current or future team...
