5 May 2010

Salary cap solution: pay players more for rep games

12:52 pm on 5 May 2010

As club bosses ponder what to do about the National Rugby League's vexing salary cap issue, one possible solution keeps cropping up that wouldn't cost the cash-strapped Premiership outfits any more money.

Paying the top players more for representative duty could keep them from defecting to Aussie Rules or Rugby Union without breaking the salary cap.

68 of the NRL's elite will be in action on Friday night, in either the Kiwis-Kangaroos clash in Melbourne or the State of Origin trial at Port Macquarie - and the 34 playing the ANZAC Test will get A$6,000 match fees each.

Kiwis skipper Benji Marshall's in favour of a payrise, and so is the Roosters captain Braith Anasta.

Anasta says the games wouldn't happen without the players, who have to back up for their clubs later in the weekend - 12 players from Friday's rep matches are set to play in Saturday's Manly-St George Illawarra game - and he thinks more cash for the rep fixtures would help.