The Perth Bears have been handed two enormous salary cap boosts as they attempt to get off the ground ahead of their inaugural season.
The club have signed 26 players, but major concerns have been expressed over the quality of their roster, with a number of the players signed to date not currently regular first-grade players in either the NRL or the English Super League.
Concerns over the club's competitiveness, as well as the distance to travel for away games and the looming threat of PNG, who have tax-free dollars to play with as they enter the competition in 2028, have all made life exceptionally difficult for the NRL's 18th side.
Mal Meninga is still confident he has a comeptitive squad, but the wider outlook is far less positive.
On Friday, as the Bears announced their inaugural home jersey to be worn next year, it was revealed the NRL, ARLC and 17 other NRL clubs have all ticked off on a pair of salary cap concessions.
Firstly, per a Sydney Morning Herald report that the Bears can have a 20 per cent marquee player allowance to be paid by an existing club sponsor that won't count towards the salary cap.
This will essentially allow the Bears to play with a larger salary cap than rival clubs, and could convince a player to make the move.
A player earning $800,000 per year, for example, could suddenly be offered around $960,000 per year with an existing sponsor paying the difference.
The second concession offered by the NRL and clubs is that they will have first crack at any contracted players wanting to be released from their deal.
It's unclear exactly how this is going to work or how long the Bears will have exclusivity for, however, the report suggests a player wanting to be released will need to talk to Perth in the first instance.
If the parties agree though, the Bears would pick up the entirety of their contract, instead of current clubs paying any of it, as often happens with player releases around the competition.
ARLC chairman and interim CEO Peter V'Landys revealed the clubs had actually put this to the NRL.
“The second one is an interesting one because it's come from the clubs themselves … because they want to see the Bears succeed. They want a strong competition, and it proves that rugby league is operating as a team," he said to the publication.
“They don't want to see the Perth Bears getting beat every week; they want to see them being strong. So, this is their idea. I've only brought it forward. This is their concept, and the RLPA has put various concepts in to help. So, we're working as a team. We're working as a game, and that's very important to me.”
“If the parties agree though, the Bears would pick up the entirety of their contract, instead of current clubs paying any of it, as often happens with player releases around the competition.”
…. and how are they supposed to do that and keep under the cap ?