The marquee allowance should exit with Dave Smith

With reports suggesting that the NRL will not turn to their marquee player allowance to help the Rabbitohs bring Sam Burgess back to the game, we have unofficially seen the end of the ill thought out system.

If you’re not going to use the fund to bring back an international star like Sam Burgess, why does it even exist?

I must admit straight up, I have never been a fan of the fund, and believe it was only ever introduced in an effort to bring Israel Folau back to the code.

The system was flawed from the get go. The idea that the NRL would top up a player’s salary outside the salary cap is laughable.

Why should the other 15 clubs sit back with a smile with only the knowledge that Sam Burgess is back in the code to make up for Souths getting a free ride in terms of his payment?

Do you think cross-town rivals the Roosters would enjoy seeing Sam Burgess back in the league? How would they feel knowing the NRL was paying some of his wages?

The idea is laughable, and should exit the game along with the man who introduced it.

Sam Burgess made his decision to switch to the 15 man game. Just because his World Cup dream did not work out like he had hoped, doesn’t mean Souths or the NRL should move heaven and earth to bring him back.

If Burgess wants to return to the game, he has to take a massive pay cut and return to the Rabbits, who have planned their future without him.

Burgess achieved great things in rugby league, and may still achieve great things in the other code also.

Anyone who thinks I’m bagging for him decision is well off the mark. He took the legacy he worked all of his professional life to build in rugby league, to earn a huge pay cheque in a code he was a relative rookie.

Not to mention the fact he doesn’t have to take 25+ bone jarring hit ups per game, and make just as many tackles.

Good on him, I would have done the exact same thing. That’s not even mentioning the prospect of a Rugby World Cup in his own backyard.

But I have to ask, what is it about a rookie rugby player that justifies the NRL paying his salary above and beyond the salary cap?

For that matter, what is it about a former Greater Western Sydney fringe player that would make 15 NRL sides warm and fuzzy while his new NRL club received an unfair advantage?

Dave Smith did some good things whilst in charge of the NRL, but this horrible marquee system certainly is not one of them.

I cannot think of any instance where I’d be happy to accept another club gaining a marquee player without having to cover his complete wage within the salary cap.

Farah Situation Gets Stranger

As if the Robbie Farah situation at the Tigers couldn’t get any stranger, he has now been stripped of his captaincy, only 48 hours after the club announced the signing of Matt Ballin.

I cannot see how Farah can continue at the club given all that has happened since the very public announcement that he was told to look elsewhere for 2016 and beyond.

In Ballin they have a ready made replacement until young gun Manaia Cherrington is ready to take over long-term.

Farah has every right to stand his ground, although it would be a real shame to see the incumbent NSW number nine relegated to NSW cup.

For the life of me I cannot understand why the Titans are yet to talk to Farah and his agent.

Nathan Friend is a handy number nine, but at 34 years of age, he is hardly a long-term option, and I’d argue he’s not going to provide what Farah can.

This is a strange situation, and a sad one at that.

I genuinely believe the Tigers, Titans, and Farah himself would be better for the player making a move north.

World Cup Envy

As I’m sure you’ve worked out, I’m not the keenest fan of the 15 man code, but I do envy their World Cup.

I’d argue that the All Blacks are equally as dominant as the Kangaroos, and that the Wallabies and South Africa are on par with New Zealand and England, but beyond that, there is no comparison.

As exciting as the fixtures before Samoa and Tonga are, there is no comparison between the group games in the respective cups.

Argentina, England, Wales, and Scotland all offer genuine competition for the big three sides, whereas no one in the league World Cup can consistently trouble the three league giants.

Sure, you may get the odd boil over, but the majority of games are absolute thrashings, much like the England destruction of France recently.

For those who didn’t hear, and there’d be plenty, as the game was not televised, England beat France 84-4 in October.

For the record, that is literally all I envy about the 15 man game.

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