Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield reveals true worth of your NRL playing roster

The NRL salary cap is supposed to create a level playing field – but there’s significant gulf between the best and worst sides in competition when their real roster worth is laid bare. CHECK OUT YOUR CLUB

The NRL salary cap is not achieving what it is supposed to.

And here’s the proof – the real valuations of 520 players across the 17 clubs. Every player, every club.

The cap was introduced 35 years ago in 1990 to stop struggling old Sydney clubs from recklessly overspending and going broke like Newtown, the Wests Magpies and North Sydney Bears.

For that it has served its purpose.

However, it was also designed to level the playing field and stop the richest and most powerful clubs from those days like Manly and the Roosters from pinching all the superstars from rival clubs.

All these years later and it’s not working – or not like it was supposed to.

What is the real value of your NRL team?

Every club might be spending the same amount of money ($12.3 million) but we hardly have a level playing field – as shown in the opening round of the competition where we had blowout scores and an average win margin of 18 points.

It doesn’t happen every week but it happens.

There is no cap on junior development spending which allows the richer clubs to stockpile the best rookies.

This is why the AFL uses a draft where the bottom sides each year at least get first picks for the best talent. Not that it’s perfect because they have lopsided scores too but it helps the strugglers.

Everyone knows you have to finish in the top four to win a grand final.

It’s been 13 years since the Bulldogs made the top four, 14 years the Wests Tigers, 15 years the Dragons and Titans and 19 years the Knights.

This isn’t an attack on the weaker clubs or the game in general but more an illustration of how professional and how well managed the likes of Storm and Penrith are.

Last week I sat down with colleague Brent Read to value every player at every club in the top 30 lists. Not what they are getting paid, but what they are actually worth.

The rest somehow need to lift themselves to that level through good management.

It showed up a significant gulf between the best and worst sides.

• Melbourne Storm play St George Illawarra this weekend with a roster that in our opinion is worth $4.5 million more than the Dragons.

• Three clubs are worth more than $14 million – Storm, the Brisbane Broncos and four-time premiers the Penrith Panthers.

• Four clubs are worth less than the salary cap – the Dragons, Cowboys, Eels and Warriors.

So how do we finish up with such a difference in roster quality when every side spends the same amount of money?

Now let’s be fair dinkum here.

Some clubs cheat better than others. The chances of getting caught are minimal.

Some clubs have more third-party opportunities in big corporate cities like Melbourne and Brisbane where they don’t have to share the spoils like nine Sydney clubs do in the harbour city.

Some clubs develop juniors better than others. Some clubs have smarter recruitment staff.

The stronger clubs can pay ‘unders’ because they have player magnets like Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett, Phil Gould/Cameron Ciraldo and Ivan Cleary at organisations where players are more likely to become better footballers and make rep sides.

Canterbury’s roster value has shot up in recent years. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

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Not everyone can rebuild as quickly and as impressively as the Bulldogs.

The weaker clubs show no patience, panic buy and pay more to attract quality footballers.

We’ll use the Dragons as an example.

Boom prop Stefano Utoikamanu went to Storm for $200,000 less than he could have got by joining Saints or staying at the Wests Tigers. It was the Bellamy attraction.

The Dragons signed Clint Gutherson ($850,000) and Valentine Holmes ($1.1 million) during the off-season but we have valued them at far less than that.

The valuations show a stack of million-dollar players, like Holmes, who are not playing to their price tags.

According to Buzz, Dylan Brown is among those not performing to their price tag. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

• The $13 million man Dylan Brown is actually ranked as a $780,000 player – and that’s being kind to him on what he has displayed so far this season.

• David Fifita is on $1 million at the Gold Coast Titans but has been valued at $580,000.

• Nicho Hynes is on $1 million at the Sharks but is valued at $750,000.

• Latrell Mitchell is on $1.1 million at the Rabbitohs but we suggest he’s like an $850,000 player on what he has produced in recent years.

• And Jake Trbojevic is probably a $750,000 player at the Manly Sea Eagles, not $1 million.

The rosters analysis shows how much stronger the Wests Tigers are looking since the arrival of chief executive Shane Richardson.

They’ve jumped from 17th on the valuations ladder to 10th on the back of signing Jarome Luai, Terrell May, and Sunia Turuva plus the incredible improvement of Lachlan Galvin, who we now rate a $900,000 player. Plus Jahream Bula and Samuela Fainu have increased sharply in value.

Melbourne Storm have gone to the top of the ladder from 8th last year via the improvement across the side, especially through the likes of Jack Howarth, Eliesa Katoa and Tyran Wishart who were rated around the $350,000 mark at the beginning of last season.

And no shock in that champion Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary ($1.6 million) and Newcastle Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga ($1.5 million) are the highest-ranked players.