**If players want to earn millions, shouldn’t they be playing like it?**
Andrew Webster
>
Who wants to be a rugby league millionaire?
>
Every player coming off contract this season by the sounds of it. If not a million a year, somewhere near it.
>
One mill. One million?! You could buy a one-bedroom renovator's dream in West Ryde for that.
>
The million-dollar hopefuls were everywhere you looked on Sunday afternoon as the Wests Tigers players looked to impress incoming coach Ivan Cleary, who is expected to be announced on Monday as Jason Taylor's replacement.
>
Unfortunately for poor old Tigers fans, the narrative on this afternoon was the same as the last three, stretching back to the heavy loss to Canberra that triggered Taylor's demise.
>
Inspired by captain Gareth Widdop, the Dragons won 28-6\. They're now four-and-one and sit second on the ladder.
>
The fine art of the deal has been a part of the game for decades, dating back to the 1950s, when the legendary St George secretary, Frank Facer, secretly signed players in closed pubs on a Sunday morning.
>
But with uncertainty over the salary cap, with player managers controlling cartels of players at one club as well as coaches, with desperate clubs paying desperate money to secure superstar players who are just honest first-graders, the market has never been so murky.
>
In this match, there were two players wanting more than $1 million a season: Tigers fullback James Tedesco and Dragons counterpart Josh Dugan.
>
Tigers captain and prop Aaron Woods reportedly wants close to $900,000\. There talk is five-eighth Mitchell Moses wants $800,000.
>
Halfback Luke Brooks is sidelined with a hamstring injury and, given his form in the early rounds, being off the field might actually inflate his price.
>
Players are entitled to ask for whatever want. They deserve every cent they can get. They should get every dollar they are worth.
>
And clubs can recklessly pay whatever they want, provided they fit under the salary cap and don't throw in a secret speedboat on the side.
>
But the market is severely askew when players start asking for telephone-number contracts when they're not worth it.
>
The Wests Tigers and Dragons need to start asking who's worth it. Every club does.
>
Tedesco is probably worth the $1.2 million he's after, even if he's yet to play 100 first-grade matches and just one Origin for NSW. For the Tigers, he's probably worth that.
>
But if Tedesco is worth more than a million – if incoming Dragons halfback Ben Hunt is going to get a million – Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston are five-bedroom houses in Vaucluse with an infinity pool and tennis court and home cinema.
>
Club chief executives will complain the headline-hungry media are as much to blame for the inflated player market as anyone, printing rumoured contract amounts before, during and after deals are done.
>
To that end, the Dragons are quite bemused at reports they are pursuing Tedesco. A conversation does not necessarily mean they're in the race.
>
But you'd like to think a million-dollar player plays like a million-dollar player, regardless of the white noise. A million dollar player wins the game.
>
On his day, Dugan can be a mesmerising attacking player but is he worth $1.1 million?
>
At one stage, his management wanted $5.5 million over five years. Dugan wants to play fullback but the Dragons see him as a centre. There's a three-year offer on the table that will see him earning $800,000 in the final year.
>
In the first half, he scooted down a short side on the left. He had two men outside him, including winger Jason Nightingale, who had already scored two tries.
>
Instead, Dugan put in a grubber kick that was easily covered. Momentum lost …
>
Consider the performance of Moses, who showed promise down the stretch of last season and had some – this column included – wanting him considered for Origin selection.
>
Early in the match, he allowed Widdop to get outside him to throw a cut-out pass to Nightingale. He then went high and missed the covering tackle. Nightingale shrugged him off and found the line.
>
Later in the half, the Tigers shifted the momentum off the back of a strong defensive set and a penalty and then a signature bustling run from winger David Nofoaluma.
>
Then the ball found Moses. He was caught with the ball, pushed a miracle flick pass to Tedesco that was never on. The play broke down. Momentum lost …
>
The player who doesn't seem to be playing out any messy contract negotiations is Widdop. He's off contract, too. Against the Tigers, he played like a million-dollar man.
>
He put in a kick that bent at right angles to find Nightingale for one of his tries. Then he ripped out a 20-metre left-to-right spiral pass that found the veteran winger's chest for another. How many young halves can even throw one these days?
>
In the second half, Widdop's inch-perfect grubber behind the line found Tim Lafai. That try extended the Dragons' lead to 20-6 and the game was over.
>
There is a looming storm on the horizon.
>
NRL clubs have been working off the premise of a $10 million salary cap for next season. Late last week, the NRL offered a cap of $8.84 million. It angered many officials and the players' association.
>
I'm predicting the promise of a "strike" within days. I'm also predicting it's going to be much, much harder to become rugby league's next millionaire.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/wests-tigers/if-players-want-to-earn-millions-shouldnt-they-be-playing-like-it-20170402-gvbzjp.html
Andrew Webster
>
Who wants to be a rugby league millionaire?
>
Every player coming off contract this season by the sounds of it. If not a million a year, somewhere near it.
>
One mill. One million?! You could buy a one-bedroom renovator's dream in West Ryde for that.
>
The million-dollar hopefuls were everywhere you looked on Sunday afternoon as the Wests Tigers players looked to impress incoming coach Ivan Cleary, who is expected to be announced on Monday as Jason Taylor's replacement.
>
Unfortunately for poor old Tigers fans, the narrative on this afternoon was the same as the last three, stretching back to the heavy loss to Canberra that triggered Taylor's demise.
>
Inspired by captain Gareth Widdop, the Dragons won 28-6\. They're now four-and-one and sit second on the ladder.
>
The fine art of the deal has been a part of the game for decades, dating back to the 1950s, when the legendary St George secretary, Frank Facer, secretly signed players in closed pubs on a Sunday morning.
>
But with uncertainty over the salary cap, with player managers controlling cartels of players at one club as well as coaches, with desperate clubs paying desperate money to secure superstar players who are just honest first-graders, the market has never been so murky.
>
In this match, there were two players wanting more than $1 million a season: Tigers fullback James Tedesco and Dragons counterpart Josh Dugan.
>
Tigers captain and prop Aaron Woods reportedly wants close to $900,000\. There talk is five-eighth Mitchell Moses wants $800,000.
>
Halfback Luke Brooks is sidelined with a hamstring injury and, given his form in the early rounds, being off the field might actually inflate his price.
>
Players are entitled to ask for whatever want. They deserve every cent they can get. They should get every dollar they are worth.
>
And clubs can recklessly pay whatever they want, provided they fit under the salary cap and don't throw in a secret speedboat on the side.
>
But the market is severely askew when players start asking for telephone-number contracts when they're not worth it.
>
The Wests Tigers and Dragons need to start asking who's worth it. Every club does.
>
Tedesco is probably worth the $1.2 million he's after, even if he's yet to play 100 first-grade matches and just one Origin for NSW. For the Tigers, he's probably worth that.
>
But if Tedesco is worth more than a million – if incoming Dragons halfback Ben Hunt is going to get a million – Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston are five-bedroom houses in Vaucluse with an infinity pool and tennis court and home cinema.
>
Club chief executives will complain the headline-hungry media are as much to blame for the inflated player market as anyone, printing rumoured contract amounts before, during and after deals are done.
>
To that end, the Dragons are quite bemused at reports they are pursuing Tedesco. A conversation does not necessarily mean they're in the race.
>
But you'd like to think a million-dollar player plays like a million-dollar player, regardless of the white noise. A million dollar player wins the game.
>
On his day, Dugan can be a mesmerising attacking player but is he worth $1.1 million?
>
At one stage, his management wanted $5.5 million over five years. Dugan wants to play fullback but the Dragons see him as a centre. There's a three-year offer on the table that will see him earning $800,000 in the final year.
>
In the first half, he scooted down a short side on the left. He had two men outside him, including winger Jason Nightingale, who had already scored two tries.
>
Instead, Dugan put in a grubber kick that was easily covered. Momentum lost …
>
Consider the performance of Moses, who showed promise down the stretch of last season and had some – this column included – wanting him considered for Origin selection.
>
Early in the match, he allowed Widdop to get outside him to throw a cut-out pass to Nightingale. He then went high and missed the covering tackle. Nightingale shrugged him off and found the line.
>
Later in the half, the Tigers shifted the momentum off the back of a strong defensive set and a penalty and then a signature bustling run from winger David Nofoaluma.
>
Then the ball found Moses. He was caught with the ball, pushed a miracle flick pass to Tedesco that was never on. The play broke down. Momentum lost …
>
The player who doesn't seem to be playing out any messy contract negotiations is Widdop. He's off contract, too. Against the Tigers, he played like a million-dollar man.
>
He put in a kick that bent at right angles to find Nightingale for one of his tries. Then he ripped out a 20-metre left-to-right spiral pass that found the veteran winger's chest for another. How many young halves can even throw one these days?
>
In the second half, Widdop's inch-perfect grubber behind the line found Tim Lafai. That try extended the Dragons' lead to 20-6 and the game was over.
>
There is a looming storm on the horizon.
>
NRL clubs have been working off the premise of a $10 million salary cap for next season. Late last week, the NRL offered a cap of $8.84 million. It angered many officials and the players' association.
>
I'm predicting the promise of a "strike" within days. I'm also predicting it's going to be much, much harder to become rugby league's next millionaire.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/wests-tigers/if-players-want-to-earn-millions-shouldnt-they-be-playing-like-it-20170402-gvbzjp.html
