Quote IAN.F.C.="IAN.F.C."You are wrong there is no grey area. it clearly states in the operational rules that,
NO COMPENSATION FOR PLAYERS OVER COMPENSATION EXPIRY DATE
C1:3:12
A Player's previous Club shall not have any right to a compensation fee in relation to any
Player who has reached or passed his Compensation Expiry Date at the date his contract
with the new club comes into effect.
So as you see its when the contract comes into affect, not when it is signed, In Connor's case the contract comes into affect after his compensation expiry date.'"
Don't disagree with your assertion regarding interpretation but I'd suggest that if the RFL amended that rule to be when the deal is signed, which is essentially when it is effective anyway, we could avoid all this stupidity. But then that would be far too logical for the RFL! Better to argue semantics and exploit loopholes to give each other the runaround.