Nick and the Sombrero

[Mark from Brisbane]

We ALL know a lot more can be done, be we also all know whilst the old boys club exists nothing will change.

 

[globaleagle]

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/nrl...4-p52xnd.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

Malcolm Knox

So, a good year for league. All that remains is the small matter of the integrity of the competition.

Grand final week gives us a reminder of the elephant in the room. The Roosters and Melbourne have had a lock on the minor and major premiership all year, just as they did last year, and whatever happens on Sunday night, they will start as favourites next year too. The biggest drawcard for a competition should be suspense over who will win it. League finds itself in a period where that major story is the greatest cause for discontent and cynicism, at least for the 95 per cent of fans who are not laughing all the way to the title.

The NRL is a great competition, as long as you don’t think too much about who’s going to win it.
If the Raiders win, neutrals will celebrate, but it would not allay the problem that blind Freddie can see. Maybe the other Freddie isn’t too blind to see it either.
It’s the lop-sided concentration of elite talent. It’s how all at once an already strong club can buy, from other clubs, the game’s best player and fullback, the best halfback, and arguably the next-best playmaker, to supplement what they already had, which was the game’s best centre, best second-rower and two of the best props.

After they won last year’s premiership, they somehow added an Origin second-rower and winger. It’s a monopoly on talent that hadn’t previously existed in the salary cap era. The Roosters are the new Manly. Wasn’t the cap meant to ensure that there could never be a new Manly?

The Roosters maintain that they have not broken the salary cap rules. They get audited like everybody else, so let’s accept that their accumulation of talent is legit. This is not actually good for the NRL. They’d be better off if the Roosters were caught cheating. As it is, the NRL have a 16-car pile-up at an intersection and their investigations reveal that nobody was breaking 60km/h. Great. But they’ve still got a pile-up.

If you put the salary cap material on the NRL’s website through Google translate, it spells S-H-A-M. The cap’s main function, according to the NRL, is: "It assists in 'spreading the playing talent' so that a few better resourced clubs cannot simply out-bid other clubs for all of the best players." Um, and how is that going for you?

There is a long list of other inducements outside the salary cap. The NRL says that "if a player is receiving money from any person as a way of inducing him to play for the club, then that money will be included in the Salary Cap". However, it adds that "income that a player earns from parties not related to his club is generally not included in the Salary Cap".

So, to put it in English, each club pays its top 30 players from its $9.3 million allocation. Players can also receive sundry other payments – education fees, medical insurance, relocation costs and prize money – which are not included in the cap. They can receive unlimited money from third parties, so long as that money is not guaranteed by the club itself (which is what lost Melbourne two premierships). They can also benefit from all the off-field inequalities in clubs’ wealth, such as gym facilities, the number and quality of coaches, welfare support and so on.

You get the picture of all the ways a player can benefit without touching the salary cap. If someone associated with the Roosters, say, *cough* Nick Politis, says to a player, say *cough* Cooper Cronk, "I’ll make sure you’re looked after when your career is over, I’ve got mates who can help you with your MBA, whatever you want to do with your life, you’ll be taken care of", that’s not a breach of the salary cap rules. In fact, under the education exemption, they can pay for three years at Harvard, if that’s what a player wants.


Or if someone says, "I’ve got a mate who’s a big fan of yours who would love you at our club", old mate can give the player and his family unlimited benefits for the rest of their lives. All the player has to do is trust the person who is insinuating the offer in the first place. *Cough*.

There is no need for brown paper bags. The rules already allow ample scope for inducements outside the cap. The sombrero is there for anyone, as long as they have the means, the cunning, and the loyalty.

The Roosters will say, quite fairly, that their advantages in these areas do not guarantee a premiership or an uneven competition. Look at the Broncos, who have more scope for inducements outside the cap than any other club.

A team still has to be well led and well coached and do the job on the field. So why shouldn’t they be rewarded for that? If the Roosters can manufacture an advantage to build a super team, they still need to make the most of that advantage, and isn’t it up to the other clubs to work out how they can catch up? Isn’t the strength of a sport built on leaders setting new standards – therefore establishing inequality – which stimulates the opposition to do better?


To all those claims, the answer is yes. But it leaves the NRL talking out of both sides of its mouth, policing an ineffective salary cap with worthy aims but a credibility gap, while also celebrating the triumph of inequality. As a paternalistic pat on the head for all those fans of clubs who are not involved in the finals, the NRL says: "Someone has to come last and someone has to win, regardless of what they spend." Suck it up, buttercup.

But let’s not pretend. (Is anyone still pretending?) The salary cap has long failed to level the playing field. Clubs have left it behind.

You don’t have to be a cheat to prosper. Grand final day belongs to the best, as it should, but if the best can be seen coming from too far out, there will eventually be little point watching.

 

[KOMORI]

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/nrl...4-p52xnd.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

Malcolm Knox

So, a good year for league. All that remains is the small matter of the integrity of the competition.

Grand final week gives us a reminder of the elephant in the room. The Roosters and Melbourne have had a lock on the minor and major premiership all year, just as they did last year, and whatever happens on Sunday night, they will start as favourites next year too. The biggest drawcard for a competition should be suspense over who will win it. League finds itself in a period where that major story is the greatest cause for discontent and cynicism, at least for the 95 per cent of fans who are not laughing all the way to the title.

The NRL is a great competition, as long as you don’t think too much about who’s going to win it.
If the Raiders win, neutrals will celebrate, but it would not allay the problem that blind Freddie can see. Maybe the other Freddie isn’t too blind to see it either.
It’s the lop-sided concentration of elite talent. It’s how all at once an already strong club can buy, from other clubs, the game’s best player and fullback, the best halfback, and arguably the next-best playmaker, to supplement what they already had, which was the game’s best centre, best second-rower and two of the best props.

After they won last year’s premiership, they somehow added an Origin second-rower and winger. It’s a monopoly on talent that hadn’t previously existed in the salary cap era. The Roosters are the new Manly. Wasn’t the cap meant to ensure that there could never be a new Manly? - (still proving that at heart, all journalists are wankers)

The Roosters maintain that they have not broken the salary cap rules. They get audited like everybody else, so let’s accept that their accumulation of talent is legit. This is not actually good for the NRL. They’d be better off if the Roosters were caught cheating. As it is, the NRL have a 16-car pile-up at an intersection and their investigations reveal that nobody was breaking 60km/h. Great. But they’ve still got a pile-up.

If you put the salary cap material on the NRL’s website through Google translate, it spells S-H-A-M. The cap’s main function, according to the NRL, is: "It assists in 'spreading the playing talent' so that a few better resourced clubs cannot simply out-bid other clubs for all of the best players." Um, and how is that going for you?

There is a long list of other inducements outside the salary cap. The NRL says that "if a player is receiving money from any person as a way of inducing him to play for the club, then that money will be included in the Salary Cap". However, it adds that "income that a player earns from parties not related to his club is generally not included in the Salary Cap".

So, to put it in English, each club pays its top 30 players from its $9.3 million allocation. Players can also receive sundry other payments – education fees, medical insurance, relocation costs and prize money – which are not included in the cap. They can receive unlimited money from third parties, so long as that money is not guaranteed by the club itself (which is what lost Melbourne two premierships). They can also benefit from all the off-field inequalities in clubs’ wealth, such as gym facilities, the number and quality of coaches, welfare support and so on.

You get the picture of all the ways a player can benefit without touching the salary cap. If someone associated with the Roosters, say, *cough* Nick Politis, says to a player, say *cough* Cooper Cronk, "I’ll make sure you’re looked after when your career is over, I’ve got mates who can help you with your MBA, whatever you want to do with your life, you’ll be taken care of", that’s not a breach of the salary cap rules. In fact, under the education exemption, they can pay for three years at Harvard, if that’s what a player wants.


Or if someone says, "I’ve got a mate who’s a big fan of yours who would love you at our club", old mate can give the player and his family unlimited benefits for the rest of their lives. All the player has to do is trust the person who is insinuating the offer in the first place. *Cough*.

There is no need for brown paper bags. The rules already allow ample scope for inducements outside the cap. The sombrero is there for anyone, as long as they have the means, the cunning, and the loyalty.

The Roosters will say, quite fairly, that their advantages in these areas do not guarantee a premiership or an uneven competition. Look at the Broncos, who have more scope for inducements outside the cap than any other club.

A team still has to be well led and well coached and do the job on the field. So why shouldn’t they be rewarded for that? If the Roosters can manufacture an advantage to build a super team, they still need to make the most of that advantage, and isn’t it up to the other clubs to work out how they can catch up? Isn’t the strength of a sport built on leaders setting new standards – therefore establishing inequality – which stimulates the opposition to do better?


To all those claims, the answer is yes. But it leaves the NRL talking out of both sides of its mouth, policing an ineffective salary cap with worthy aims but a credibility gap, while also celebrating the triumph of inequality. As a paternalistic pat on the head for all those fans of clubs who are not involved in the finals, the NRL says: "Someone has to come last and someone has to win, regardless of what they spend." Suck it up, buttercup.

But let’s not pretend. (Is anyone still pretending?) The salary cap has long failed to level the playing field. Clubs have left it behind.

You don’t have to be a cheat to prosper. Grand final day belongs to the best, as it should, but if the best can be seen coming from too far out, there will eventually be little point watching.

Solid article... essentially the thoughts of almost every non-Rorters fan still watching the game, and what could be described as a summation of this thread lol....

The system needs to change. And if guys like Teddy, Cronk, JWH et al are playing for unders, and the promise of post career golden handshakes and other benefits... it begs the question:

Why are the NRL allowing these players to be registered on under valued contracts? Surely a market value of some description should be taken into account, in the same way that Gifty’s contract was disallowed for being below what they deemed adequate??

There has to be a solution...

It won’t happen while Greenturd runs the game.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

For the record Global, Malcolm Knox is a Manly supporter. He wasn’t having a crack at Manly, more likely a crack at the ‘everybody hates Manly’ shibboleth when there are far more deserving candidates for universal opprobrium.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Outstanding work Terry. Shibboleth and opprobrium in one sentence. Simply outstanding!

 

[globaleagle]

For the record Global, Malcolm Knox is a Manly supporter. He wasn’t having a crack at Manly, more likely a crack at the ‘everybody hates Manly’ shibboleth when there are far more deserving candidates for universal opprobrium.

I didn't understand any of those words in that sentence.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

I didn't understand any of those words in that sentence.

Eels supporters forum is that way, buddy!

 

[The Who]

Malcolm Knox = brilliant article.
He's one of the better journos, and should be congratulated on putting in print what all non-Easts supporters think.

 

[kurrieagle]

Uncle Nick has lots of companies that he controls at arms length. Any of these can and i suspect do provide the 3rd party deals. The only way to fix this is get rid of the 3rd party deals.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I didn't understand any of those words in that sentence.

Yep, that’s a WTF from me too

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Uncle Nick has lots of companies that he controls at arms length. Any of these can and i suspect do provide the 3rd party deals. The only way to fix this is get rid of the 3rd party deals.

That’ll never happen.

I know I keep banging on about it but who gives a **** about $$$$$, the richest clubs will always prosper.

Bring in my points system , let them pay them whatever they want BUT through a points system they can’t stack a side with SOO , Australian and International test players.

If Tedesco can earn 5 million a year good on him.

But you can only have say Tedesco and JWH, the rest have to be made up with lesser points value players.

Clubs could roll the dice and have 3 superstars but that almost means the rest are up as comers at best.

Look it’s not perfect but it’s a start at something different.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

I didn't understand any of those words in that sentence.

There is always a dictionary or thesaurus. They even have them online.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

There is always a dictionary or thesaurus. They even have them online.

I just did , clever use of big not often used words.

But 11/10 for effort

 

[The Who]

That’ll never happen.

I know I keep banging on about it but who gives a **** about $$$$$, the richest clubs will always prosper.

Bring in my points system , let them pay them whatever they want BUT through a points system they can’t stack a side with SOO , Australian and International test players.

If Tedesco can earn 5 million a year good on him.

But you can only have say Tedesco and JWH, the rest have to be made up with lesser points value players.

Clubs could roll the dice and have 3 superstars but that almost means the rest are up as comers at best.

Look it’s not perfect but it’s a start at something different.

You could really stuff up Easts if every club had to field three or more juniors in their top 30. I'm talking about real juniors, not Nick's purchased ones.

 

[master blaster]

The funny thing is . It says on the Fox sports web page that ,Raiders players futures are up in the air. Paying the price of being in the Grand Final and if they win it. Some players will move on and have to be moved on while they shore up the their rising stars . Nothing about the same thing will happen at the rorters. Funny that eh...

 

[The Who]

Nick Politis is 77. His heath will give out before his wealth does, as this recent report shows:
Rich Lister Nick Politis has enjoyed a $290 million surge in personal wealth in the past two months after a jump in the share price of car dealership group AP Eagers as it closes in on full control of rival Automotive Holdings Group. AP Eagers had raced to 79.8 per cent of AHG on Monday morning as more shareholders accept the all-scrip offer to create Australia's biggest automotive dealership company with 229 locations and 12 per cent of the new car market. Mr Politis, chairman of the Sydney Roosters NRL team, holds a stake of more than 30 per cent in AP Eagers, which is planning to rip out $30 million in costs in the next 12 months from the enlarged entity.
So, we know how he'll be funding the purchase of another few superstars for Easts next season.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Nick Politis is 77. His heath will give out before his wealth does, as this recent report shows:
Rich Lister Nick Politis has enjoyed a $290 million surge in personal wealth in the past two months after a jump in the share price of car dealership group AP Eagers as it closes in on full control of rival Automotive Holdings Group. AP Eagers had raced to 79.8 per cent of AHG on Monday morning as more shareholders accept the all-scrip offer to create Australia's biggest automotive dealership company with 229 locations and 12 per cent of the new car market. Mr Politis, chairman of the Sydney Roosters NRL team, holds a stake of more than 30 per cent in AP Eagers, which is planning to rip out $30 million in costs in the next 12 months from the enlarged entity.
So, we know how he'll be funding the purchase of another few superstars for Easts next season.

To be fair it’s not just Uncle Nick, check out their board it’s a who’s who of business in Sydney.

There would be dozens of entities that could provide unlimited TPA’s that aren’t sponsors associated with their board.

Good on them, we can whinge all we like but they’ve mastered the system and are laughing in our faces because of it.

 

[Luke_m]

Ahhh how good would it be if after going back to back the roosters now get caught for being over the salary cap I swear they have to be over for sure $$$$$$$$

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Ahhh how good would it be if after going back to back the roosters now get caught for being over the salary cap I swear they have to be over for sure $$$$$$$$

Yep but won’t happen, they’ve got this locked down tighter than a fishes arsehole.

It’s why Uncle Nick was just laughing at us the other day , they are untouchable.

 

[Luke_m]

Yep but won’t happen, they’ve got this locked down tighter than a fishes arsehole.

It’s why Uncle Nick was just laughing at us the other day , they are untouchable.

Haha Yeah I know they are the kings at hiding it !!

I hold some hope because of the rumour on here a few weeks ago from someone about a friend telling them something dodgy was going on at the roosters with tedesco’s contract