The most interesting football issue to come out of the AGM was Steve Sharp's confirmation that we are in a massive pickle in regards to our salary cap. He said that we've basically been unable to field the players we want to field, because of our salary cap situation and that fixing it was Daniel Anderson's immediate responsibility.
He did not use any names, but I think it might be safe to assume that this is the issue that is related to Junior Paulo's not playing NRL as many of us believe he should.
As most of you would know, if you have been reading Forty 20's, or Ham Sammich's fantastic Wenty reports, Junior Paulo has been basically the best player in NSW Cup for pretty much the entire season to date. Arguably, he's the form forward of that entire competition and in his one NRL game this year he was outstanding and possibly the best prop in our side on that day.
I believe wholeheatedly that he and Tim Mannah represent our best starting prop rotation. They are a great pairing, in that you get Paulo's size and bullocking runs with Mannah's footwork and quick play the balls.
What I, and I'm sure many others, found incomprehensible, was that Taniela Lasalo was preferred to Paulo when the last prop opportunity came about. Lasalo played a handful of minutes, distinct from the major role that Paulo was entrusted with in his one NRL game this year. Lasalo has been good for Wenty but it's fair to say he's been consistently overshadowed by his younger front row partner.
Sharp's admission could provide us with the answer to this mystery. If we're having issues with our second tier cap, this could explain why Paulo is being prevented from getting a run. Whether it's match payments or contract incentives, it would appear that there is a very good chance that salary cap issues are somehow stopping Paulo from getting his deserved crack at NRL.
If this is the case, let's hope it can be resolved sooner rather than later because Paulo is clearly too good to be playing NSW Cup and I think he'll add another dimension to our NRL side.
Replies
Mannah's footwork? lol.
What happens next year 1 Eyed? who do you think will be forced out?
Do you think they have done some shuffling to somehow move brendan santi from our top squad to allow Junior to take his spot?
If it was up to me I would just put Junior on the field in the next NRL game and get the forms filled out later. If the bosses complain then tell them, "Sorry, we got confused..."
If he has the talent he should play first grade - if the rules say he can't - then the rules are stupid. Otherwise its not fair to Junior (not to mention the desperate stressed out supporters).
Ok you are right.
But I just can't have respect for mean, complicated nitpicking rules of any kind. I bet they won't have trouble bending a bunch of rules to let Benji play.
(Which is good - we want Benji to play ... and Junior)
I thought 2nd tier cap was $440,000 & say minimum salary $80,000 means 5 players allowed to play. Have we already used those 5 players (didn't think so) or is Junior on much more than $80,000? (which would mean in top 25 players then & not subject 2nd tier?)
For players in the Top 25 Salary Cap or 2nd Tier Salary Cap, the Salary Cap value for a player each year is broken down into the following categories:
- Playing Fee – fully included in the Salary Cap.
- Included benefits – all benefits provided to players including accommodation, travel, motor vehicles, interest free loans and manager's fees and any applicable fringe benefits tax.
- Win bonuses and appearance fees – Payments for appearing in or winning a game are calculated based on the number of NRL games the player played in the prior year multiplied by any applicable bonuses. For win bonuses, the calculation is capped at 13 wins. Example: A player appeared in 10 NRL games in 2013 and now has a 2014 Contract for $50,000 contract fee plus $1,000 per game. His - Salary Cap Value would be $50,000 plus 10 times $1000 = $60,000.
- Other bonuses – Any other bonus contained in a player's contract will be calculated in the Salary Cap if the NRL Salary Cap Auditor expects him to achieve the bonus based on his prior year's performance.
Example: A player played State of Origin in 2013. His 2014 Contract includes a $20,000 State of Origin bonus. This bonus will be included in the player's 2014 Salary Cap Value.