Phil Rothfield: Sydney Roosters squeeze $8 million worth of talent into $6 million NRL salary cap
THE Sydney Roosters have somehow managed to squeeze $8 million worth of talent into $6 million NRL salary cap.
Opinion
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WHY can’t rugby league fans just appreciate the Sydney Roosters for being one of the great teams of the modern era?
This club is on the verge of becoming the first side to win back-to-back titles in a united competition since Wayne Bennett’s Broncos back in 1992-93.
Yet whenever anyone talks about the Roosters these days they refer to their salary cap.
It dominates discussions on social media whenever they play.
On Friday I had a phone call from a prominent NRL coach, the morning after the Roosters beat the Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium.
The conversation started along these lines.
Coach: Why don’t you write a story about the Roosters salary cap. Everyone in the game is talking about it.
Buzz: Yeah, great idea. We’re about to go into the finals. I’ll get barred.
But here goes anyway.
The NRL salary cap is $5.5 million plus another $600,000 for the marquee player allowance. That makes the total spend $6.1 million for 2014.
Somehow the Roosters have squeezed an estimated $8 million worth of talent into their squad. And I’ve rated them conservatively.
I’m not saying they are cheats but what we do know is their roster is far superior to any other club in the competition.
Check out their star-studded line-up against the Canberra Raiders or Parramatta, or the Titans, or the Wests Tigers. It’s like comparing caviar to fish fingers.
To come up with the $8 million salary cap estimate, I spoke to the prominent coach and a leading player-manager.
They also point out the Roosters won the grand final last year but, unlike other premiership-winning outfits, didn’t lose a significant player to a rival club, outside of Martin Kennedy to the Brisbane Broncos.
Luke O’Donnell retired and Daniel Mortimer was released mid-season.
They also picked up the hottest young halfback in the game, Jackson Hastings, winning a bidding war with St George Illawarra and other clubs.
So how do they do it?
The Roosters are subjected to exactly the same scrutiny as other clubs by the NRL integrity unit.
Obviously their stars are playing each week for under their real market value.
There can be no other explanation.
ROOSTERS SALARY ESTIMATES
Anthony Minichiello $400,000
Daniel Tupou $250,000
Michael Jennings $750,000
Shaun Kenny-Dowall $350,000
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck $250,000
James Maloney $600,000
Mitchell Pearce $800,000
Sonny Bill Williams $1,000,000
Boyd Cordner $450,000
Aidan Guerra $400,000
Jared Waerea Hargreaves $450,000
Jake Friend $375,000
Sam Moa $250,000
Bench
Mitch Aubusson $275,000
Dylan Napa $200,000
Jackson Hastings $150,000
Frank Paul Nu’uasala $250,000
The rest: $800,000
Total: $8 million
HIGHLIGHT
IT’S great to see the Brisbane Broncos sneak into the finals and keep coach Anthony Griffin’s career alive for at least one more week. I still think he’s been hard done by.
LOWLIGHT
SOMETHING has to be done about the NRL finals format that forces Manly to give up their home ground advantage to play South Sydney in Rabbitohs territory.
SPOTTED
AGENT-to-the-stars John Fordham travelling on a train from Central to Sutherland in peak hour on Friday afternoon. This is a man who has been known to travel in limos.
SWITCH TO SWANS
DICKS hotel is an old rugby league pub in Balmain. At least it used to be.
On Saturday afternoon every big screen in the hotel was on the Swans v Fremantle as patrons cheered for the red and whites.
One little TV in a corner had the Tigers v Sharks. One person was watching it.
MOVE FOR THURSTON
SURELY Johnathan Thurston has to be the new favourite to win the Dally M Medal because his main rival, Jarryd Hayne, has played in losing sides in the final two weeks.
WATMOUGH ON WAY OUT
TWO months ago this column first revealed the internal dramas that threatened to tear the Manly Sea Eagles apart.
Predictably it was met with denials.
In a couple of weeks, one of the biggest stories of the year will break — that Manly’s champion forward Anthony Watmough will not be at Brookvale next season.
I’m 99.9 per cent certain the Blues Origin star will be wearing Parramatta’s blue and gold jersey from 2015 onwards.
TOOVEY LEARNS LESSON
GEOFF Toovey inherited a premiership-winning roster from Des Hasler at the Manly Sea Eagles three years ago.
He has now discovered there’s a lot more to coaching than preparation and tactics.
The management of the roster, salary cap and players is as important as anything else.
This is where the jury is still out on Toovey and his decision to not even make an offer to Glenn Stewart, breaking a bond among the players that took a decade to build.
DEFENCE LETS EELS DOWN
ON face value, an improvement from the wooden spoon to be just one win from the semi-finals should be seen as a highly successful season.
At the same time, Parramatta Eels fans are entitled to feel disappointed.
The last two matches against Canberra and Newcastle were winnable games but their defence against both sides was ordinary.
It was a very good year for the Eels but could have been even better.
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