I would love a competitive Bradford in SL buy that's not what we are going to get. We don't even have 12 clubs in SL who are competitive. We certainly don't have any outside it.

My theory is of Salford have the money they should not be allowed but encouraged to spend it. That wakefield or whoever don't is of no relevance

so we let cheats prosper then?

Of course Bradford could be competitive, as could Leigh. They both have a bigger fanbase than Salford do currently and with the same funding that SL clubs have, there is no reason why they couldn't construct the exact same squad that Salford are currently running with.
In addition to that, Bradford have a superb academy setup - graded superior to several SL clubs - that would only help to bolster their chances in the top flight.

Having said that, there is no way the RFL would ever drop a club down a division and do a straight swap like that, so such discussions are pointless.

Leave that to our government.

Salford lose millions. That's why Bradford and Leigh couldn't do it

Club not having enough fans but having someone willing to stump up millions > club having more but still not having enough fans and not having someone willing to stump up millions

Salford was just used as an example in my post. Castleford are a great example of how competitive a club can be when they get it right. Bradford could match Castleford's attendances and overall income levels.
Are Cas losing millions too?

Yes. Cas were hours away from going just before Jack Fulton gave them another 900k. Cas have also been relegated numerous times and spent far more time at the bottom of the league than the top and their ground is falling down. We all hope new ground plan mk5 comes off but if it doesn't Cas are up the Creek.

You might want to stick a few "allegedly"s in there. Don't necessarily disagree, but none of it is proven yet.

if salford have "allegedly "done wrong, for me it has to be relegation....somebody has to go down or be denied promotion, depending on play offs, how can the rfl deny a team a place in the top flight when another team has cheated?....it might be all a wind up, but koukash hasn't hid the fact that he would cheat the cap as he believes other teams have done it..

Brilliant !

So it's ok to sign players and agree to pay them in the next financial year.
You sound like a tory tax advisor or someone from the accounts office of a multinational tax dodging empire.

Just answer one question please.

Did Kris Radlinski (or any family member) receive payment for his playing services that season ?

of course not, it was all done for charity...even cas went down for the benefit of the charity

I'd be interested to know what system Saddened would like to see in place that would catch a payment from a third party company, other than requiring players to submit their full financial records to the RFL each season for an audit?

Even in that case, how would you audit a cash payment in a brown envelope that never touches the player's bank account? Whatever system you put in place, there is always going to be someone who finds a way round it either legally or otherwise.

If a combination of real-time reporting (the live cap) and self-assessment (reliance on the clubs to abide by the spirit of the cap) is good enough for the tax system of the country, I'm not sure why it isn't good enough for the RFL?

Not guilty

Don't take him seriously

I keep saying it. But the Salary Cap should be scrapped in RL in this country.

Just have a penalty of relegation if you you go bust. Then an owner who let that happen would have no chance of getting any 'investment' back. Should be a deterrent.

If the Salary Cap were scrapped, clubs would (given the above) not spend more than they have to. (Hetherington/McManus/ Lenigan etc) might just have a word about it all in the golf club house?)

But if Koukash (or the owner of Bath RU etc etc) wanted to splash the cash, so be it. Would add to the excitement.

I'm not sure it would. It would just lead to the possibility of very few teams dominating the league.
Or, as happened width Wigan in their glory days, one team who are head and shoulders above the rest. Not only would they have the best player in every position, but also the second best player in every position simply not playing.
At the moment we have a competitive league. The only issue is the number of teams to have won a grand final, but that could well change in the next few years.

I think it would lead to a significant increase in players wages and another period in our sport where club facilities, infrastructure, marketing and management is neglected in favour of first team wages.

Is it just me that's disturbed at how uninformed Phil Clarke & Eddie are on this matter? They were both talking like they hadn't a clue about the issue at all.

Going by past history the Red Devils IF FOUND GUILTY will only be docked 4 points at most.

The only past history for this in RL is the Melbourne case. The previous breaches are not the same kind. So a fine of approx £250k plus Salford being stuck on 0 points all season would be the punishment from past history.

If they're found guilty then I don't see how the punishment can be much less than the maximum of 20 points. As I said in a previous post, 3/4's of the point deduction should be in the regular season (prior to the 8's split) and 1/4 after the 8's split.

Have you forgot Wigan ?

I'm more disturbed that they delivered an appeal for leniency live on air; apparently, it would be unfair to dock them points now they've finally managed to put a decent side together. Furthermore, why bother penalising them this year for alleged offences against the cap in previous years?

The defence rests your honour.

I thought they were done for breaking the "spirit" of the cap by paying players the next season rather than the current one?
I don't remember a case in RL other than the Melbourne one where players had 2 contracts and one set of contracts was being deliberately hidden by the club.

If found guilty, it's the deliberate nature of the fraud/cover-up that's the main issue, not really how much they're actually over the cap. That's why it needs a harsh punishment. 4 points isn't anywhere near enough for an offence of this nature.

Yep. It was very poor from Sky that. It seemed a deliberate appeal for leniency. I don't see how a 20 point deduction would make Koukash walk away. It doesn't relegate a team. They'd still be in the Middle 8's just like last year.

All this talk of just Wigan makes me smile.


Lets not forget Wakefield, Halifax, St Helens, Hull FC, Bradford and now Salford.