Assuming you're spending the right amount on players, if you spend up to your cap you should have a collection of playing talent that is roughly as competitive as every other club's. However there are significant advantages (and disadvantages) to the different ways of structuring your salary cap (the amount of the cap paid to different players in different positions across your top 25).
It's unlikely that any club official will come out and share this kind of information with the public, so it's up to us to speculate. I think it could be an interesting and useful exercise to consider the amounts you (the members of 1EE) would ideally pay to the various members of your top 25. For shits and gigs you could also include how you think Parra's cap is structured, and share your thoughts about how this deviates from the ideal cap structure you came up with. Let's go with the 2016 salary cap of $6.8M (with a minimum salary of $82500).
I'll go first, because nobody can stop me:
$1M: Primary half
$600k: Fullback
$600k: Secondary half
$600k: Hooker
$400k: Edge forward
$400k: Edge forward
$300k: Middle forward
$300k: Utility forward (edge/middle)
$250k: Wing (main yardage winger making 15+ carries per game)
$250k: Centre
$250k: Centre
$150k: Wing
$150k: Middle forward
$150k: Middle forward
$150k: Middle forward
$150k: Utility forward
$150k: Backup fullback
$150k: Backup centre
$150k: Backup half
$150k: Backup hooker
$100k: Backup winger
$100k: Backup middle forward
$100k: Backup middle forward
$100k: Backup middle forward
$100k: Backup edge forward
In this model, the 15 guys in bold would play whenever available. The other two bench spots would be filled from the remainder of the squad, depending on the circumstances of the game. And obviously you rarely have your entire squad available anyway, not even in round one.
As for how this compares to the Eels' current cap distribution, I think it's pretty close. We almost certainly have a couple of hundred thousand dollars free though. We would be spending a lot less at fullback (I'd say Gordon is on about $300k, remembering that goalkickers are worth more) and maybe slightly less on our hooker (Peats) and our secondary half (Norman). We have great depth in our pack, meaning we are probably spending more there than we need to. Not that we are overspending on individual players, but that some of them are too good for their role in the squad. For example our highest paid middle forwards would be Mannah and Watmough, who would probably both be on more than $300k. This is mitigated somewhat by Ma'u and Scott probably being on less than $400k. But it is the lower tier forwards like Edwards, Moeroa and Gower who would be earning about $200k (and worth it as individuals), where this model calls for those positions to be filled by players worth $150k. Then some of the backup forwards (on $100k according to my ideal distribution) at the Eels are high quality backups like Terepo and Pauli, who would be on about $150k. I think we probably have more than two hookers in our top 25 as well.
Don't forget this is all my opinion. Just like the rest of you I have no idea how much anyone earns. But this is a good exercise for those of you who can't understand why we won't pull out all stops to pay half a million dollars to re-sign a prop, or poach an off contract centre. The cap space has to come from somewhere, and it comes from the quality of the other players elsewhere in your squad. Give this activity a try and see if you can juggle the cap. Understand that in a perfect world you would spend minimum wage on 8 of your top 25, with the remaining $6.14M spent on the top 17. And then pray you never get any injuries. But in reality you need to spend more than minimum salary on at least a couple of your backups.
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Also, doesn't Mannah get the 'seniors discount'?
Ps, I don't think Hiku or Roberts or any other decent centres are coming to your team.
I also don't think it's essential to spend a lot of money on outside backs. While teams like Manly and Canterbury like to structure their cap this way, recent premiers North Queensland and Souths certainly don't.
So I'm going to argue you have to attack your salary cap in a different fashion, and not look at it, from a position point of view but from a strike-power perspective. This may not be exactly the right total, but close enough..
$800k: Primary half
$600k: Destroyer prop/forward
$600k: Strike attacking player (left-side) 2000
$500k: Secondary half
$400k: Hooker
$400k: Strike right-side player
$400k: Fullback
$250k: Half/hooker
$250k: Left-side attacker
$250k: Left-side attackers
$250k: Right-side attackers
$250k: Right-side attackers
$250k: Lock
$200k: Starting Prop
$150k: Bench Prop
$150k: Bench Prop
$150k: Third-edge forward
$150k: Backup centre/winger
$150k: Backup fullback/winger
$150k: Backup utility forward
$100k: Backup centre
$100k: Backup winger
$100k: Backup prop
$100k: Young half
I think you need certain players who make your other players look good. So like you I've spent big on a main creative playmaker, and good money on a secondary half as well. I think the more money you spend on your secondary half, the less money you have to pay your hooker. I'd also pay more money than most for a backup hooker/half who can fill in for either position and who you can also play as a 14. I think you need to spend about 2 million on your halves.
Big difference between my roster and yours, is I'm prepared to pay big money for what I call a destroyer forward. It doesn't really matter where he plays, but it is most likely he is a prop or lock, but he's the guy who can get you over the advantage line when the opposition line is set and subsequently makes the rest of your forwards look better because he starts the roll forward.
I also think you need one strike-player in the backs. This may be a fullback but it could just as easily be a centre (and in our case maybe it's even a winger!) but he's the guy who your structures are designed to put into half a gap or one-on-one, because you know he's got a good chance of beating his opposite. I'm then also looking to stack both the left and right sides, with a strike weapon. Again, you want a go-to- guy that you base your structures around. Then you fill is with as much quality as you can round those players.
Yeah I probably haven't allowed enough for my number one middle forward. Recent premiers all seem to have one middle forward who would be on more than $300k under the cap (the Cowboys probably have three of them). Though I don't think Bromwich (2012) or JWH (2013) would have been on such big money at the time (adjusted for cap inflation since then).
400 and 600k seems a little low for one of your spine and THE organiser on the field.
Depends if we are talking an injury prone Peats or say Cam Smith though I guess?
Peats 550k, Smith one million?
250k for a centre is pushing it too I'd say.
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