{"id":583928,"date":"2026-04-04T00:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T00:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/583928\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T00:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T00:37:28","slug":"the-salary-cap-isnt-working-but-thats-not-why-the-nrl-is-becoming-less-even","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/583928\/","title":{"rendered":"The salary cap isn\u2019t working. But that\u2019s not why the NRL is becoming less even"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RoySave<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

Save this article for later<\/p>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n

Got it<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

After only a month of this erratic \u2013 even chaotic \u2013 NRL season, there are two guarantees compared to last year: the Panthers won\u2019t be last at the halfway mark, and no team will \u201cdo a Canberra\u201d and come from outside the elite eight to win the minor premiership.<\/p>\n

The NRL\u2019s great equaliser \u2013 the salary cap \u2013 is not fulfilling its purpose of maintaining parity across the code. We knew it was failing when Penrith won four consecutive premierships while, during the same period, Wests Tigers took the wooden spoon three times.<\/p>\n

\"DragonsDragons coach Shane Flanagan had to offer a longer deal to secure Keaon Koloamatangi, while Payne Haas was lured to South Sydney by Wayne Bennett.Getty\/Monique Westermann<\/p>\n

Eventually, Panthers playmaker Jarome Luai switched to Wests Tigers, suggesting that Penrith could not house all their superstars under their salary ceiling and the Tigers had ample space. But money wasn\u2019t Luai\u2019s highest priority. He wanted to lead. Yet, last week his young, highly motivated team defeated the unbeaten Warriors 32-14 away without him.<\/p>\n

The Dragons are winless and adrift at the bottom of the NRL ladder, justifying the early prediction of coach Shane Flanagan<\/a> that \u201cwe are not going to win the comp this year\u201d.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Flanagan\u2019s pessimism was based on his conviction that the salary cap fails bottom clubs. The Dragons were forced to offer more money and a longer term to entice Keaon Koloamatangi away from South Sydney<\/a> in 2027. The Rabbitohs had been burnt by the long-term deals signed by Greg Inglis and Sam Burgess, and couldn\u2019t justify paying a middle forward $1 million when he would be 33 by the time the contract ended. Nor could Parramatta.<\/p>\n

However, the Dragons, desperate for some strike in their forward pack, agreed to give Koloamatangi a fifth year in his contract. It is a decision akin to a deferred dental appointment causing greater misery down the road. Paying out $1 million plus to Koloamatangi in 2031 may mean less money to upgrade say, the Couchman brothers, Ryan and Toby.<\/p>\n

\"MoneyMoney wasn\u2019t the biggest factor in Jarome Luai\u2019s switch from Penrith to Wests Tigers. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nor do the Dragons receive any concessions for developing juniors who sign elsewhere, such as the sons of club legends: Melbourne\u2019s Tyran Wishart (father Rod), Bulldog Aaymon Fitzgibbon (father Craig) and Roosters twins Toby and Tom Rodwell (father Brett).<\/p>\n

This season, only two major players from last year\u2019s top-eight clubs have joined teams in last year\u2019s bottom nine: hooker Reed Mahoney (Canterbury to North Queensland) and half Jamal Fogarty (Canberra to Manly). They replaced two Origin stars recruited from bottom-nine clubs to a top-eight ones \u2013 Reece Robson (North Queensland) and Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly) to the Roosters.<\/p>\n

Money is only the third most important reason players switch clubs, according to a Rugby League Players Association survey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 80 per cent of the general population cites money as the main driver for switching jobs, this was the case for only 21 per cent of NRL players and 11 per cent of NRLW players moving clubs,\u201d RLPA chief executive Clint Newton said.<\/p>\n

\"JamalJamal Fogarty is one of just two big-name NRL players to leave a top-eight team to go to a bottom-nine team for 2026.Manly Sea Eagles<\/p>\n

Newton cites a club\u2019s culture, the opportunity to be a starting player, the coach and a club\u2019s chances of success as other factors motivating players to switch clubs or stay put.<\/p>\n

\u201cWord spreads very quickly now if the coach of a team down the bottom of the table is any good, or what the high-performance structure is like, or whether the club culture is strong,\u201d Newton said.<\/p>\n

The reality is there are other factors determining the success or failure of clubs \u2013 some more important than the $12 million salary cap \u2013 especially with the taxman taking half the difference of any extra money offered to players.<\/p>\n

The top clubs have the top coaches<\/p>\n

An established coach at a club with long-term success, such as Melbourne\u2019s Craig Bellamy, Penrith\u2019s Ivan Cleary or the Sydney Roosters\u2019 Trent Robinson, will attract players willing to play for less money. This is a powerful incentive with young, highly promising players who want to reach the top quickly. Lachlan Galvin left Wests Tigers because, according to his manager, he wasn\u2019t progressing under coach Benji Marshall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"LachieLachie Galvin apparently didn\u2019t like Benji Marshall\u2019s approach at the Tigers.Renee Nowytarger<\/p>\n

The NRL\u2019s best forward, Payne Haas, will leave premiers Brisbane \u2013 coached by Michael Maguire, a grand final winner at two clubs \u2013 to join up with seven-times premiership winner Wayne Bennett<\/a> at South Sydney. Haas prefers the Skinny Coach, whom he believes will extend his playing longevity by managing the number of games he plays.<\/p>\n

Opportunity often outweighs money<\/p>\n

Middle-tier players, consigned to replacement roles on the bench behind established stars, will seize an opportunity to switch clubs for a starting role, even if the money is less. Daniel Atkinson left the Sharks to wear the No.7 jersey at the Dragons, while the durability of the Storm\u2019s veteran No.7, Jahrome Hughes, forced Jonah Pezet and Wishart to sign with other clubs \u2013 admittedly for starting halfback money.<\/p>\n

Sydney clubs have an advantage<\/p>\n

A player can move around the eight Sydney clubs without having to buy another house and uproot his kids from school. Cherry-Evans recently revealed he had offers from other clubs but chose the Roosters because his children could stay at the same school and his family could remain on the northern beaches.<\/p>\n

Home is where the heart is<\/p>\n

Representative forward Mitch Barnett will leave the New Zealand Warriors at the end of the season for \u201cfamily reasons\u201d, while 28-year-old Melbourne winger Will Warbrick will travel in the opposite direction for the same reason, joining the Warriors. Premiership forward James Fisher-Harris left the Panthers for the Warriors to be closer to his Kiwi family.<\/p>\n

\"WillWill Warbrick will return to his homeland of New Zealand in 2027.Getty ImagesClubs and players pressing the trigger prematurely<\/p>\n

Increasingly, clubs are signing players for the following season before a ball has been kicked in the current one, often leading to embarrassment when the incumbent shines. Raiders hookers Tom Starling and Owen Pattie helped the club to the minor premiership in 2025 when the club signed Newcastle dummy half Jayden Brailey. In last week\u2019s loss to the Sharks, Starling played 61 minutes and Brailey 19.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the Roosters had young halves coming through but signed veteran Cherry-Evans, so Sandon Smith left for the Knights \u2013 where he led his team to a win over Canterbury last week.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Happy<\/a><\/p>\n

Players can also eject prematurely. Grant Anderson left the Storm, where he was the third-choice centre, to join Brisbane, where he is also ranked No.3. Now, with Melbourne losing two grand final centres \u2013 Jack Howarth to groin-hip problems and Nick Meaney is playing on the wing \u2013 plus Moses Leo having played fewer than 10 rugby league games, Anderson would be the No.1 centre at the Storm.<\/p>\n

Player managers can subvert the salary cap<\/p>\n

The Storm still quote the ancient case of the manager who acted for stars and journeymen at the club. In negotiations with Melbourne, he insisted on a big fee for an Australian forward, while dismissing the others with the comment: \u201cPay them what you like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Players are better behaved<\/p>\n

A decade ago, a highly paid player jettisoned for misbehaving would be quickly signed by a club desperate for an X-factor. The budget-strapped Sharks won the 2016 premiership with discards such as Ben Barba, Andrew Fifita and James Maloney, deemed to be troubled, or high-maintenance individuals. The NRL\u2019s comically named \u201cno-fault\u201d stand-down clause has reduced these sorts of moves, which helped level the talent pool.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"RoyRoy Masters<\/a> is a Sports Columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-583928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}