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Tigers stalwarts Robbie Farah and Bryce Gibbs have unwittingly found themselves at the centre of the club's $187,140 salary cap breach, which furious Wests officials believe was imposed on a dubious technicality over long-serving player allowances. The Tigers comfortably topped a list of five clubs - including Gold Coast, St George Illawarra, Parramatta and Canberra - that were yesterday fined for breaking last year's cap. The NRL, however, came down hard on the Tigers for applying long-serving player discounts to both Farah and Gibbs 12 months ago. As exclusively revealed by The Daily Telegraph last year, the joint venture claimed a $100,000 exemption for the pair, who were graded at Jersey Flegg level with its respective junior feeder clubs Balmain (Farah) and Western Suburbs (Gibbs) in 2002. Under NRL rules, players are eligible for the discount when they have served eight seasons after being graded in Toyota Cup. But Farah and Gibbs graduated before the National Youth Competition was introduced and the Tigers argued its previous Under-20s equivalent, Jersey Flegg, should be seen as an equivalent for the purposes of the exemption. Salary Cap auditor Ian Schubert disagreed, claiming that pre-Toyota Cup players could only be graded through the open-age NSW Cup. Tigers CEO Stephen Humphreys and Schubert have been engaged in a running battle over the rule's interpretation for the past year, with the Tigers also claiming Farah should be exempted because he became an international in 2002 after debuting for Lebanon. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph last night, Humphreys also disputed the remaining $87,140 breach - which was in lieu of educational expenses and living away from home allowances for younger players. He indicated the club would argue its case to NRL boss David Gallop. [Source](http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/long-time-tigers-did-not-breach-cap/story-e6frfgbo-1226054271381)
