Sing it!
“It’s all about the… money, money, money…”
The Rich Teams Get Richer
On Monday, the Daily Telegraph published an article about the $4M salary cap imbalance amongst the strong and weak Clubs.
The Telegraph’s journalists Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield and Brent Read valued every player of every team and rightly or wrongly highlighted the disparity between the top teams and the rest of the competition.
The Storm, Broncos and Panthers sit on top millions over the cap compared with the Dragons sitting last (as usual). Buzz and Ready do hate the Dragons.
But we’ve seen this all before. Back in 2023 I called this out as:
“garbage journalism.”
The Creator – 2023
Mainly because they wouldn’t talk about the 3rd Party Agreements that causes this in balance.
But at least this time they did.
“Some clubs have more third-party opportunities in big corporate cities such as Melbourne and Brisbane where they don’t have to share the spoils like nine Sydney clubs do.”
Daily Telegraph – 2025
Hmmm, sounds like paraphrasing what I wrote over two years ago.
Below is a link to that article which is essential reading and makes a great segway to our next topic.
The Circus is Back in Town
Manly’s Daly Cherry Evans is in all NRL news after announcing he’s leaving the Club live on Channel Nine.
Will he leave Manly? Will he retire? Where will he go? How much will he be paid? And who is at fault and why has this happened?
Who knows. Each party is blaming each other without blaming each other. Manly hasn’t been this entertaining since the Crazy Johns’ mascot ran around Brookvale.
Every time DCE’s contract is up, out goes the Big Top and out come the clowns as he agitates for the best deal he can.
Make no mistake DCE is all about the money.
Back in 2015, DCE signed with the Titans for over $1M per season and three months later did his famous backflip to stay at his beloved Sea Eagles.
But it’s also taken years for fans of both Clubs, and in general, to forget what happened a decade ago. These current events will have a disruptive effect on Manly’s chances for seasons to come.
Is he worth the money? Absolutely. He is in the top handful of halfbacks in the competition and there are Clubs willing to pay that sum of money.
DCE is captain of his Club, earning $1M per season and still one of the first picked for the Maroons aged at 36 years. He might still have a couple more years in him.
Very much like Ben Hunt. Except Benny was valued by the NRL for less than 2/3rds of his contract when he went to the Broncos. I know, I keep harping on this.
Manly have reportedly offered DCE a larger amount than Benny but still a big haircut on his $1M.
Or have they? Again, who knows.
Both Benny and DCE have their personal dreams and priorities in the twilight of their careers.
I hope DCE signs with the Roosters or does another backflip and remains at the northern beaches.
You are a long time retired.
Expect this story to go on for weeks. Just don’t expect me to continue writing about it.
-Rob
The Creator
