: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:04 pm  

I cringed with embarresment watching that noble segment of the SL show.

The only people who should be exempt from the salary cap are players who have come through the academy system, in my opinion there must also be a sliding scale of % exemption also.

eg

15 first team appeareances 100 % exemption
10 first team appearances 75 % exemption and so on.

That way the teams who play the kids get full benefit whilst those who claim to have a squad full of kids yet never give them an opportunity get less of a benefit.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:08 pm  

I think that Noble is making these statements at this time to draw attention away from the bad start we've had this season ... if he's been advocating it since 2006 why is it suddenly 'news' now ?

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:13 pm  

Dai Jones wrote:

I'm no great fan of Noble these days but have to say I think he has a point here. No one is suggesting RL will be making bids for Shane Williams, Brian O'Driscoll or Dan Carter

Brian Noble actually names Brian O'Driscoll as one of the targets - along with Jonny Wilkinson.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:33 pm  

This has to be the daftest thing Noble has come out with.
If nothing else can those people who think it is a good idea please explain to me what they would expect the rah rah boys to do in return?
Nothing?

Please don't be so stupid.

If this were to happen you might as well start packing the bags of any of our "star" names. Union would (as someone has said) simply tell their clubs they can spend "x" on RL players and when it comes to money they are like the banks - no one knows where its coming from but there seems to be more and more of it.


There was an article in the FT (nothing else to read at work, don't panic) stating that THIS season the premiership RU clubs between them will lose 20 MILLION and all that was being said was that they couldn't keep expecting their rich benefactors to keep stumping up the shortfall.

Noble I believe is just deflecting away from the fact that he is a one trick pony who has been found out.
Unless we have a great cup run which would sweep him along I very much doubt that he will be our coach through to the end of this year.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:37 pm  

florimo wrote:

I think that Noble is making these statements at this time to draw attention away from the bad start we've had this season ... if he's been advocating it since 2006 why is it suddenly 'news' now ?

He has.
He mentioned it at the fans forum to a few people ( I happened to be in earshot).

So it has obviously not been done to detract from our poor start.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:39 pm  

Maybe Wilkinson would have been a good signing about 5 years ago, but now? you've got to be kidding. The pinnacle of Rugby Union is the international game, playing on an international stage with the international media taking a serious interest.
Players used to come from union to league mainly for the money. Now that they earn more in union why would they bother? It's hardly rocket science.
Until we have a serious international set-up then no decent union players will ever consider making the move across. That would mean taking a gamble on young union players and i'd rather see the money spent on nurturing the players we already have...

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:44 pm  

Saying something at a forum (not even on the stage at the forum) to a few people is very different from the superleague show. ~ there must be at least two dozen watching that

He has had loads of opportunity to talk about this on air.


Whatever the reason and what ever the timing...
IT IS PLAIN STUPIDITY.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 2:05 pm  

Madderzahatter wrote:

Players used to come from union to league mainly for the money. Now that they earn more in union why would they bother? It's hardly rocket science.

I reckon a lot of people would be curious to see how some Union players would go in SL but that's got to be about as far as anyone's willing to consider it. The idea that each club should be given a directive from the RFL/SL is just bonkers.

Thing is, even if the big money was on offer for these Union lads to give RL a go, surely there's got to be a suspcion that most will be coming for exactly that reason, and not - as they did in the past - for the challenge of playing the game.

...Out of curiosity alone tho, I'd like to see Joe Worsley playing SL.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 2:53 pm  

The RU can keep Worsley, he's hugely overrated.
Ben Cohen would have been a good'un to have on the wing in his prime and so too Josh Lewsey. Lewsey would have been an awesome full back.

: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:53 pm  

[i]There is nothing to stop RL clubs going for these players now. The idea there should be some sort of salary cap subsidy so we can discount part of their salaries is stupid. If without such a subsidy it is deemed the salary cap is too small then it needs increasing. But the notion an RU player who has never played the game can get higher wages than an RL player just because the RU player signed from the other sport is ludicrous. You may as well tell all the young RL players to go and play union first then they can come back on a higher wage.
[/i]
Dave[/quote]

No we can't buy these players now because they earn too much already-Noble I'm sure would like to be able to increase his options during an SL season by considering buying some proven RU backs but he is hamstrung because we can't justify spending the cash. It is simple economics.

I would recommend to any young talented rugby playing kid to go and play Union now full stop and the best (Ford, Farrell, Myler) are going. RL is stagnating I'm afraid, when Wigan had a great team, we used to be able to sing about us 'being by far the greatest team the world has ever seen' and genuinely believe those words because not only did we have the best British League players-we could also add the likes of Botica, Inga & Quinnell from Union when we chose and if we didn't want to buy the world's best Union players of the time it is because we felt confident they wouldn't improve what we already had.

This is not the case now, our very best players looked a class below Aussies and Kiwis in the World Cup unlike the 1990s when we were free to top up RL resources with a generation of Welsh players and others