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| Salary cap saga dominates test buildup | |
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| Topic Started: May 6 2010, 12:02 PM (98 Views) | |
| stacey | May 6 2010, 12:02 PM Post #1 |
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By GLENN JACKSON - Sydney Morning Herald What was billed as a media conference to discuss tonight's test match instead became a protest rally, as Australian vice-captain Cameron Smith joined a growing throng of players to express frustration with the NRL's salary cap. In a week where Petero Civoniceva and Jarryd Hayne raised the spectre of more defections to rival codes, Smith cast doubts over league's regenerative powers - the catchcry of NRL hierarchy in recent times. ''It's pretty sad, really, to let guys like [Mark] Gasnier go and Sonny Bill Williams go, and Craig Gower and Craig Wing,'' Smith said. ''I don't even know the number of players who have gone to England. Then you've got a guy like Israel Folau, who may be a chance of going. Something needs to be done. It needs to be looked at and it needs to be looked at quickly. We can't keep letting these superstars of our game go. ''Every year you hear people say that another young bloke will come up, there's always young blokes coming through. I haven't seen that happen in Sonny Bill's case. Although we've got some good centres playing, I haven't seen a guy play like Gasnier, and at the moment I don't think there's anyone coming through like Israel Folau. They're huge losses to our game and we need to do something about it.'' Smith was presented as the face of the Australian squad yesterday when he, New Zealand forward Adam Blair and the two national coaches, Tim Sheens and Stephen Kearney, attempted to talk up a match that has been largely overshadowed by the salary cap scandal - and growing calls from leading players for a lifting of wage restrictions. That theme continued through yesterday's media conference as Smith applied the blowtorch to the game's administrators. Told the NRL was planning to raise the cap by $50,000, Smith reacted with bemusement. ''Increasing the cap by $50,000?'' Smith said. ''What would that buy, a 17-year-old?'' He did, however, admit the Australian team's week-long training camp had been embraced by Melbourne's besieged players, grateful to have briefly escaped the drama engulfing their club. ''It's been a welcome break away from everything that's happening at the Storm,'' Smith said. ''I've really enjoyed my time in camp, it's good being able to focus on playing for Australia. It's something that I feel very proud of. Every time you get a chance to represent your country, it's like the first time you're playing. ''It's been a welcome break. It's been quite hectic, the last 10 days, but I'm feeling really good. I'm really excited about playing.'' Smith, the Storm and Australian hooker, has been unwittingly cast as the face of the salary cap scandal, after the NRL chief executive David Gallop's statement that ''a lot of this story starts and finishes with him'', even though he has denied being aware that his agreement with Fox Sports was part of a breach. But the test vice-captain insists he is not angry about the tag. ''I can't do anything about it, so there's no use being angry about it.'' www.stuff.co.nz |
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