St George Illawarra Dragons fans are entitled to look at the lineups for their game against the Melbourne Storm on Saturday and scratch their heads trying to make sense how the salary cap is supposed to make for a level playing field.

Considering that every club spends the same $11.5 million on their roster each year, it’s a reflection of the Storm’s genius in the art of cap management that they still had enough left aside to have a crack at signing Zac Lomax (until that deal fell to pieces last week).

Even so, if you were picking a combined team out of the starting 13 players in this game, the Storm would almost completely dominate.

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In no way is this intended as a knock on the courage and commitment the Dragons showed in their heartbreaking loss to the Bulldogs in Vegas, because they could not have played braver in round one.

But the reality is that when it comes to rating the respective rosters on paper, the Storm simply blow the Dragons off the park.

And allowing for the fact Melbourne is also currently without representative stars Eli Katoa, Xavier Coates and Trent Loiero, I could still only find room for two Dragons in my combined starting team.

I base this on who I would buy if all 26 players were on the open market tomorrow, not on their potential talent of past accomplishments.

The two Dragons I’d pick are centre Val Holmes (over NRL three-gamer Moses Leo), and experienced backrower Jaydn Su’A (over Ativalu Lisati who has played 16 games).

The rest in my combined team would be from the Storm.

For what it’s worth, here’s my breakdown:

Sua Fa’alogo over Clint Gutherson, Will Warbrick over Christian Tuipulotu, Jack Howarth over Moses Suli, Nick Meaney over Setu Tu, Cameron Munster over Kyle Flanagan, Jahrome Hughes over Daniel Atkinson, Stefano Utoikamanu over Emre Guler, Harry Grant over Damien Cook, Josh King over Toby Couchman, Joe Chan over Luciano Leilua and Tui Kamikamica over Hamish Stewart.

Melbourne Storm superstars Jahrome Hughes, Harry Grant and Cameron MunsterSource: Supplied

In fairness to Couchman and Stewart, it’s a close call not giving them the nod here given how highly they are rated as young forwards with huge potential.

Some may also argue Gutherson’s experience and leadership would be of more value than Fa’alogo’s talent and promise at this stage, while Leilua’s power and skill creates a case to give him a points decision over Chan.

Obviously, it all comes down to personal opinion.

But if I was picking a team to win this season, 11 of the 13 Storm players get my vote.

Yet regardless of if you pick two, three or five Dragons players, the point is the same — it is still a lopsided argument.

Especially when you factor in that the Storm build their roster around their superstar five-eighth Munster, halfback Hughes and hooker Grant.

Match them up against their opposites this week in Flanagan, Atkinson and Cook, and it just blows the respective values of these salary caps further apart.

Yet we are told both clubs are spending the same $11.5m.

Of course, that does not include third party sponsorships, which is the devil in the detail here.

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Because there is no doubt big clubs like the Storm have far greater access to third party deals than some of the battlers like the Dragons.

There is also no denying many players will happily take unders to play under a coach like Craig Bellamy in a system with proven success.

That is also the case at other clubs who consistently finish up near the top of the ladder like the Panthers and Roosters. Or big brands like the Broncos who have far greater access to third party deals.

Nevertheless, trying to work out how the Dragons are spending the same money on their cap as the Storm is just impossible for the average fan to comprehend.

It’s why I’d love to see the day when the NRL made all teams publish not only player salaries but an individual breakdown of what each player at every club is pocketing in third party sponsorships as well.

It would not only make struggling clubs more accountable for bad deals that are often swept under the carpet.

It would also highlight how clubs like Melbourne can consistently get far better bang for their buck through smart recruitment and great coaching.

Of course, the Rugby League Players Association will never allow player salaries to be made public because they have us conned into thinking it is an invasion of privacy.

Yet salaries are made public in major sports around the world, so why can’t the NRL apply the same system?

It would certainly make it a lot more believable if every fan knew the true salaries of every player.

LACHLAN WHO? TIGERS UNLEASH NRL’S NEXT BIG THING

I can’t wait to watch teenage wrecking ball Heamasi Makasini when the Wests Tigers take on the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday afternoon.

The 18-year-old who scored three tries in the trial against the Roosters before steamrolling the Panthers’ Dylan Edwards during pre-season will line up in the centres at Leichhardt on Saturday.

While Phil Gould previously labelled Lachlan Galvin the “best teenage footballer I’ve ever seen”, now former Tigers boss Shane Richardson has declared to the SMH that Makasini is “as talented a kid as I’ve seen in my 30 years of working in rugby league”.

Wests Tigers youngster Heamasi MakasiniSource: News Corp Australia

It’s a big statement from Richo who has seen some pretty fair teenagers emerge along the way including Galvin as well as the likes of Benji Marshall and Greg Inglis, who he has known and worked with closely.

If Makasini turns out to be half the player GI was, the Tigers will have themselves an absolute ripper.

We’ve said it a thousand times over the years, but it’s just further proof that every time a player like Zac Lomax leaves rugby league, a young talent is ready to grab his opportunity and become the game’s next big thing.

REF RAGE SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED

What’s a worse look for the game:

Excited fans jumping the fence to help home grown Rabbitoh Alex Johnston celebrate if he breaks Ken Irvine’s all-time try scoring record on Friday night?

Or the image of Roosters players last week when they got up in the face of referee Wyatt Raymond and constantly tried to intimidate him?

With the junior footy season just around the corner, the Roosters should be embarrassed by the example they set with their over-the-top reactions during their shock loss to the Warriors.

And they should thank their lucky stars a few of the players, including skipper James Tedesco, didn’t end up copping the same $5,500 fine Rabbitohs fans will face if they run onto Allianz Stadium.

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Thankfully, the NRL sent out an email this week informing all teams that this sort of behaviour won’t be tolerated from here on.

Players and coaches can deny it all they want, but they are paid to be role models for every kid who plays the game of rugby league.

And it sets a terrible example seeing their heroes getting up in the face of referees and carrying on like they are above the rules.

As pointed out on NRL 360 this week, the Roosters also have a horrible record in recent years when it comes to their discipline, with Fox Sports Stats highlighting how they are constantly down towards the bottom half of the table for penalties conceded.

Maybe they should concentrate on cleaning up their own backyard before blaming the ref next time.