"Quayle said a big reason for bringing the salary cap to league in 1989 was many clubs not being able to afford player contracts: "Four clubs couldn't meet their contracts. Some players ended up receiving 60 cents in the dollar on their contracts. Canberra, the most successful team of the late 1980s, could not afford to pay its players."
At one point, eight clubs were insolvent. "We could have ended up with a competition made up only of Canterbury, Manly, Easts, Parramatta, Penrith and St George.""
https://www.couriermail.com.au/spor...y/news-story/5f14b4d5e1f40009b3333ba28e5a0ce1
