Is it all about that money, money (yeah, yeah)?

“I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love” – The Beatles. Is this phrase ringing truer in rugby league, even amongst all the salary cap, representative payments and strike action? Earlier this week we had Johnathan Thurston re-sign with the NRL just hours after reports Mark Gasnier was poised for a rugby league return.

Does that mean then we are seeing a slight change in attitude towards skipping the code for big money elsewhere? In the last four years we have seen Wendell Sailor, Mat Rogers, Lote Tuqiri and Timana Tahu all leave the code only to return – for much less money.

Money, Money, Money

Let’s not kid ourselves, most of the players leaving the NRL to play rugby union (or AFL) don’t do it for the challenge – a large part of the reason is the money. They can earn so much more playing other codes and sometimes in foreign countries. I have said here before that I don’t blame them. If their NRL contract is up then fair enough, they can leave.

There’s big money issues in our game today with reasonable claims from the players for wanting more. The fact of the matter is rugby league is played in a very small part of Australia (plus a city in New Zealand and the tip of England). On the other hand rugby union is a global sport. The NRL simply cannot produce the same cash as these other competitions.

I can see a solution to help the players earn more here in the NRL. These things go hand-in-hand: Raise the minimum wage and off-set this cost by allowing players to earn as many non-club sponsor third party payments they can get. The other option is centrally contracting the top 20-25 players to the NSWRL, QRL or NZRL.

Love of the Game

On a positive note, all of these defectors seem to return because they miss rugby league. The other codes are very different and most fans I speak to seem to think these guys get bored in rugby union, and I agree.

Thurston re-signed partly because he loves playing for the Cowboys while Gasnier got bored in rugby. Rogers came back because he loves the game, Tahu was not used by the Waratahs and Tuqiri was pushed out but is now re-born. We all know how much Wendell has loved being back.

I think it is great to have these guys back and I would put money on Karmichael Hunt, Sonny Bill Williams and Israel Folau returning to the NRL in the future.

Rep Ban

While yes it is great to have them all back, I don’t think we should reward the players that leave our game only to return for a swansong, redemption or whatever. I propose that anyone who defects from NRL to another code before returning – be banned from all representative rugby league for as many seasons as they were away.

For example, Gasnier was away all of last year and half of this season. That means he would be ineligible for all City-Country, Origin and Tests until the 2011 Four Nations series at the end of next season.

Timana Tahu would not play rep football until 2012 while we wouldn’t see Lote Tuqiri in a Queensland jersey until around 2016 after missing the last seven NRL season.

I think that can be only fair to those who remain loyal to the wonderful game of rugby league.

TIPPING
Tips – Bulldogs, Broncos, Warriors, Storm, Roosters, Tigers, Panthers, Manly
Last Week – 3/4
Total – 35/68 (51%)

That’s it from me for this week and don’t forget NSW Origin team named during Monday Night Football with the Maroons to follow on Tuesday. If you have anything to share, or a complaint, reach me directly on Twitter (@keyto316), email on andrew.keyte@gmail.com or comment below.

Thanks for reading,
Keyto