The Prodigal Son

It was with great excitement two days ago that I read the news across the bottom of the television that Mark Gasnier was considering a return to NRL since having played Rugby Union for the past 6 months. It could be a rumour though, I won’t hold my breath. Then, yesterday morning, the news ran across the screen again “Gasnier confirms interest in return to NRL”.

There was never a doubt in my mind that should Gasnier return he would return to the St George Illawarra Dragons; I simply cannot imagine him in any other team’s colours. There is just one issue; a matter of payment. The club already having contracted a full squad fans must assume that they are limited in what can be offered to Gasnier in terms of salary. Given that he’s just returned after trying out a different code of football, is it beyond hope that Gasnier return to “his” club and prove his loyalty to his club and the game by initially accepting a dramatically reduced salary to what he is accustomed and indeed worth?

The player salary cap has become the biggest point of contention in the game at the current time; earlier this year the Melbourne Storm were investigated by the NRL and were found to have breached the conditions of the cap. Personally; I never before fully understood the salary cap, however it came about in 1997 when the League was split by the Newscorp run Super League and the NRL. On returning to one competition under the NRL a salary cap was introduced so that no club would be disadvantaged in the players they could contract and conversely that no one club could retain all the best players in the club. Had they been able to do so, those which had previously been Super League clubs would’ve been in a much better financial position (having been privately owned through the Super League period) to retain top players by paying them higher salaries. This would’ve left the clubs which remained loyal to the NRL at a great disadvantage in terms of opportunity to compete on a level playing field in future competitions. I am unsure if each club has a different cap or if there is one cap that is equal to all clubs; I think there is a set cap for all clubs with allowances made for new clubs and possibly otherwise disadvantaged clubs.

It has been said recently that the player salary cap has been the reason that many of the top players from the NRL have left to play for other codes (both Rugby Union and AFL) and also to play in the UK Super League competition (traditionally a field for retiring NRL players.) The claim is that players are not being paid at a high enough rate to retain them in our game, that the players can get paid higher rates playing games they have no (or very little) experience in. I recently heard it explained that the players should consider their salaries in comparison to the salaries of those paid in other codes by looking at the percentage of player salaries as to the profits of the game overall. The percentage of the NRL’s profits which is paid to players is around 24%, the percentage which is paid to players in the AFL is around 15%. Therefore, in respect of how much is available to be paid to the players the NRL players are by far better off. When looking at player pay rates in this way it is apparent that they are being well paid. However, it also becomes obvious that the AFL is a far more profitable game.

Whilst the NRL was focussing on expanding into other regions and indeed States in the aim of becoming a truly National game the AFL concentrated on their game in it’s heartland, Victoria, specifically Melbourne, whilst their clubs in Sydney, Brisbane, South and Western Australia also steadily grew. Whilst the NRL was divided by Super League the VFL (Victorian Football League) consolidated it’s strengths, rebranded as the AFL (Australian Football League) and grew stronger. The AFL has retained ALL their traditional clubs, though having relocated some clubs in saturated areas to interstate locations (Melbourne Roos became the Sydney Swans). The NRL lost MANY of their traditional heartland teams; Norths (the Bears), Wests (the Magpies), Souths (the Rabbitohs, since reinstated to the League), whilst others such as St George (the Dragons), and Illawarra (the Steelers) remained in the competition only by amalgamating to become the St George Illawarra Dragons (in my opinion) due to the NRL trying to keep afloat teams in Perth, Adelaide, the Hunter Valley, the Gold Coast (which at the time did not have a large enough fan base to support a team, unlike now.) Funding provided to those clubs in a misguided attempt to grow the game could have been used otherwise to support the existing clubs. Clubs which had fan bases of lifelong fans, fans who would be loyal to their club year in year out; whether they be the premiers or “wooden-spooners” were dramatically overlooked and devalued. Many, many fans were lost; fans which would’ve supported their clubs for a lifetime stated that they would never again watch another NRL game for as long as their club was not in the competition. Had those foundation clubs been looked after, supported financially when they needed support, those fans would still be going to games; the game as a whole would be more profitable today. There might be no need for a salary cap. There would be more money available to increase player salaries.

I’m more than willing to stand with open arms to welcome back the prodigal son; ‘though the prospect of him playing for another club makes it bittersweet indeed.