NRL Rich 100 2021: Panthers under represented, Dragons have the most

He’s been out of action for the best part of three seasons yet Dragons star Jack de Belin still sits among the highest earners in the NRL. But there is a catch.

Penrith’s remarkable charge towards the NRL premiership is being driven with the fewest number of players in the Rich 100 of any club.

As part of an extensive News Corp investigation into NRL player salaries, it can be revealed that the Panthers feature just three players among the league’s top earners, while St George Illawarra has surprisingly emerged as the club with the most.

Nathan Cleary (No.11, $940,000), Viliame Kikau (No.67, $635,000) and Apisai Koroisau (No.95, $470,000) are the only current Panthers on the list.

The Dragons have 10 players in the Rich 100 which puts them ahead of rivals Parramatta and the Rabbitohs (both nine).

On the surface that is misleading because Penrith are still paying some of former winger Josh Mansour’s wage at South Sydney, while rival clubs are chipping in about $1 million in salaries for players to run around in the Red-V this season.

Nathan Cleary and his Panthers teammates are noticeably under represented

While the likes of big earners Ben Hunt, Corey Norman, Paul Vaughan and Zac Lomax sit fully inside the Dragons’ cap, Andrew McCullough, Jack Bird and Josh McGuire’s salaries are being largely subsidised by the Broncos and Cowboys, respectively.

At $400,000 – the amount the Dragons are paying — Jack Bird is a bargain buy. So too what they are contributing to experienced forwards McCullough and McGuire who have filled a much needed gap in the roster.

St George Illawarra’s general manager of football Ben Haran said being flexible was important.

“The key thing is you have to have some capacity in your salary cap to do something if something comes up,” Haran said. “When you’re looking at your roster and salary cap it can move in different ways and parts. You need to be strategic in what will compliment your roster with what you’ve got and what you’ve got coming through.

“The decisions we’ve made this year, we’ve had the capacity to do something in line with what we needed to make our roster better and executing that so it doesn’t have too big of an impact going forward.

“It works both ways, too. You might be able to manage a few clubs chipping in but you might have other players who are unavailable through injury or suspension. Suspension is a big part of the game now and the games missed can have a significant impact on your roster.”

Outside of the NRL’s Rich 100, the Dragons also have rivals chipping in for Daniel Alvaro and Poasa Faamausili.

The Dragons are the most represented club

The delay in Jack de Belin’s availability also means the former NSW lock won’t get his full $750,000 until next season.

Haran works closely with coach Anthony Griffin, chief executive Ryan Webb and recruitment manager Ian Millward in shaping the roster,

“You have to be aligned with the key decision makers at your club,” Haran said. “Being aligned in understanding with what helps with the now and how your club is going to look in the next two to five years.

“You need to make balanced decisions together. That’s one of the things which are really important. “You need to be able to make and consider all the impacts of each decision and how it works for the now and allowing your players to come through and be competitive in the coming years as well.”

The Dragons still have a bit of wiggle room in their cap to make a play immediately for an outside back.

Originally published as NRL Rich 100 2021: Panthers under represented, Dragons have the most