Tigers prepare to dump Benji

Benji Marshall's Tigers career might come to a premature end. Source: Brett Costello / News Limited

BENJI Marshall's career at the Wests Tigers could come to a premature end on Tuesday as the club moves to make way for boom teenage halfback Luke Brooks to make his debut against Parramatta on Friday night.

In what is shaping as a watershed week for the struggling club, the Tigers will officially ask the NRL for a second-tier salary cap exemption so they can name Brooks on Tuesday.

The club will also seek permission to name Jarred Farlow to replace Robbie Farah after the inspirational skipper was on Monday ruled out for two weeks with a hand injury.

But debate over Marshall's future will overshadow everything else after another disastrous showing in Sunday's heavy loss to the Gold Coast.

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Marshall had two runs for a total of 11m - and his effort had plenty questioning if his heart was still at the Tigers given his imminent switch to Super Rugby.

Over the past month, Marshall's form has got progressively worse.

He was also criticised for making a rushed trip to New Zealand last week to talk to the Auckland Blues just days before the game on the Gold Coast.

Marshall is expected to make his signing with the Blues official in the coming days.

Potter caused a furore when he benched Marshall for the round 10 clash against South Sydney but most critics of that decision would now agree Marshall's form no longer justifies his place in the team.

The only thing saving Marshall from an inglorious end to his NRL career is his reputation.

It would be a massive decision for Potter to dump the superstar with only five weeks left in the regular season and Marshall four games short of 200 matches for the Tigers.

Marshall has given great service to the club but his form this year, and especially in the past month, justifies the club's decision to let him walk out on the final two years of his contract.

A key reason the Tigers couldn't afford to keep Marshall on the $1 million-a-year handshake agreement he had with former chief executive Stephen Humphreys until the end of 2017 was the emergence of Brooks and Mitchell Moses, who both recently agreed to extended deals.

The Tigers have now lost their past four games and Friday night's clash against the last-placed Eels is shaping up as a wooden-spoon shootout.

Potter said Brooks's time had arrived. Asked if the 18-year-old was ready for the NRL, Potter said: "I think so. He has proven himself in State Cup and he is doing a great job for the under-20s.

"I don't think that there is any doubt that he needs to be challenged at this level.

"It is the next stage in his development, so we will go through the process and see what happens."

Potter could still name Marshall at five-eighth or start Curtis Sironen alongside Brooks, given they are the most likely pairing for next year.

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The Tigers are on the limit of their second-tier salary cap as a result of the club's shocking run of injuries.

While the second-tier salary cap is designed to stop the richer clubs stockpiling the best talent, Brooks is a local junior who played for the Leichhardt Wanderers and went to school at Holy Cross Ryde.

"They put these rules in place to try and protect the game and I understand that, but he is a local junior and it makes sense to let him play," Potter said.

"We have to have one eye on next year and both eyes on trying to win the next game. We have to name a team that is capable of doing that.

"There is no doubt it would be great for the surrounding district that (Brooks) comes through and gets his shot at first grade and that will help him for the future.

"I just want him to get a couple of games before the end of the year and get a sniff of what it is like." 

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sutton out for up to a month

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John Sutton of the Rabbitohs runs the ball. Source: Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images

SOUTH Sydney Rabbitohs five-eighth John Sutton will miss two to four weeks of football after spraining his left ankle in last Saturday night's loss to the North Queensland Cowboys.

Scans on Monday confirmed that Sutton will join Greg Inglis on the sidelines as the club slipped to second on the ladder following Saturday's 30-12 loss.

The injury occurred in the 36th minute of the match but according to Rabbitohs Head Coach Michael Maguire, the club will be able to cover for the playmaker while he heals.

"John will be missed but we know he will manage his injury professionally and our medical team will work with him to have him return to the field as soon as possible in the best shape possible," Maguire said. 

"We'll announce our team tomorrow, but Luke Keary has done a good job coming on as a replacement at five-eighth in recent weeks and we're confident in his ability to get the job done while John is on the sidelines."

Souths have lost two of their past three games and face rampaging Melbourne on Friday night at AAMI Park.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Video: Is hot spot a waste of time?

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Kevin Pietersen expressed his displeasure after being given out following his referral. Source:AFP

Hot spot is a waste of time.

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This sophisticated and expensive infrared technology clearly doesn't work as it is intended.

Either that or the video umpire now has so little faith in it he simply ignores it.

Kevin Pietersen's dismissal has become the latest confusing reason why hot spot doesn't matter any more.

There was a jubilant appeal by the Australians 15 minutes before lunch on the final day of the third Test at Old Trafford as England was desperately attempting to hold on for a draw.

Pietersen was just eight when he pushed at a ball from Siddle which was taken by wicket-keeper Brad Haddin.

The gloveman and slips went up as one, celebrating wildly that they had claimed England's biggest wicket.

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Watch the video at the top of the page and decide for yourself!

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Umpire Tony Hill took a customary age before giving Pietersen out, much to his great shock.

He walked down the pitch to batting partner Joe Root shaking his head and called for a review.

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Numerous replays showed there was no white mark on the edge of his grey bat with the grainy, charcoal pictures offered by hot spot.

Yet video umpire Kumar Dharmasena found no evidence to overturn Hill's decision.

It was certainly not as bad as the shocking decision Dharmasena upheld against Khawaja in the first innings, when a ball from Graeme Swann had clearly turned well past Khawaja's bat.

Pietersen may well have tickled a thin edge. Certainly the "snicko" white line went off as though there had been a mild earthquake, although snicko does pick up all sounds at that moment.

It could have been a noise from anywhere, which is why video umpires are not allowed to use it. However they do have direct stump mike audio which can sometimes replay the sound of a nick.

Whatever the case, hot spot now only adds to the confusion and lack of confidence surrounding the umpiring and decision review system (DRS) in this series.

A day earlier England wicket-keeper Matt Prior believed that David Warner had nicked a hook shot in Australia's second innings but was given not out.

"There was disbelief because he hit it and that's why we referred it and when you are that sure and it is still given not out it is quite frustrating, so that's why there was a bit of chat around," Prior said after stumps on day four.

"It is cricket at the moment. There wasn't any evidence and that is frustrating. All you can go on from a referral point of view was how you see it."

Prior remains a fan of the DRS despite the blunders in this series which have too often overshadowed the cricket.

"It works and it is the way forward but once you use a review you have to then get a decision right.

"Once it goes up to the third umpire the decision that comes out has to be the correct decision.

"Whether the technology needs to be looked at or how they use it, I don't know. But for the players at the moment that is the biggest frustration."

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Perry set for crucial Ashes role

Ellyse Perry is set to play a crucial role in the Southern Stars' Ashes campaign. Source: AAP

STRIKE bowler Ellyse Perry is on track to play a crucial role in the Australian women's team's defence of the Ashes.

The Southern Stars were playing England A in Hertfordshire overnight Monday.

With Australia batting first, Perry was set to be unleashed on Tuesday night in preparation for the Ashes Test, which starts at Wormsley Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Perry battled an ankle injury during Australia's successful one-day World Cup campaign in February and had surgery on her return from India. The 22-year-old required further surgery in April.

"She's bowling off her long run," Australian coach Cathryn Fitzpatrick said.

"She bowled six overs in a row (on Sunday), not a problem.''

"She's due to bowl 10 on Tuesday and I can't see her having any issues getting through that."

Swing bowler Julie Hunter is under an injury cloud and missed the tour match.

Western Australian swing bowler Gemma Triscari was added to the squad last week.

"(The bowlers) will be monitored with their loads, " Fitzpatrick said.

Australia holds the Ashes and will play England in one Test, three one-day games and three Twenty20 matches.

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Verdict on Dons may be delayed

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Gillon McLachlan is back from the US, but Andrew Demetriou doesn't return until Wednesday. Source: Jay Town / Herald Sun

THE AFL could not guarantee it would make a decision before the finals on whether to punish Essendon over the supplements saga.

The league took possession on Friday of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's 400-page interim report into the Bombers' controversial sports science program and has forwarded a copy to the club.

It's understood the AFL, which has stated its determination to protect the "integrity" of the finals series, pushed for the interim report to give it time to take action against the club, if deemed necessary, before September.

But, after returning from an equalisation fact-finding mission to the US, league deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan said he was unsure if that was possible.

"We'll see where the report takes us," McLachlan told Channel 9 on Sunday.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou won't be back in Melbourne until Wednesday after deciding to stay in the US for a sports conference.

McLachlan's comment came as Adelaide chief operating officer Nigel Smart predicted Essendon would be stripped of its points this season.

AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon will make the decision on whether the league pushes to charge the Bombers with bringing the game into disrepute.

Coach James Hird could also be pursued for conduct unbecoming.

It's believed the league will make its position known before next Monday when the AFL Commission is next due to meet.

That would give Essendon two weeks to respond before the commission meets again on August 26. The league has made it clear those dates are fluid.

Any decision on whether Essendon players will face individual sanctions doesn't appear possible until ASADA completes the full report.

Bombers sources were confident the players would not be penalised.

They were also of the belief that no decision should be made on whether the club should be punished until the report was finished.

That report may not include input from sacked sports scientist Stephen Dank, who has again told the Herald Sun he will fight any push to be interviewed by ASADA investigators, despite the agency gaining powers to force people to be interviewed, with daily fines of $5100 if they refuse.

Smart said Essendon was about to take a big penalty.

"The report will detail what it will detail, but I think Essendon will get hit by the AFL in terms of bringing the game into disrepute and I wouldn't be surprised if they lose their points for the year," Smart told ABC radio.

"It's not good for footy, the Essendon situation. It will come out in the report, which is only a few days away."

It also emerged yesterday that Essendon interim chief executive Ray Gunston had moved to clear the air with Collingwood, which had been linked to the drugs saga in an interview given last week by the Bombers' former high performance manager, Dean Robinson.

Magpies president Eddie McGuire asked Gunston to stand up at a pre-match function at the MCG yesterday.

"Ray was good enough to ring up and apologise on behalf of the Bombers, which was gratefully accepted, knowing full well you had nothing to do with it (drug allegation)," McGuire said.

"We didn't take offence."

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Milford asks for Raiders release

Anthony Milford of the Raiders catches the ball. Source: Stefan Postles / Getty Images

EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Milford is on a collision course with the Raiders after formally asking for a release from the club Sunday, with the Queensland sensation's manager saying Canberra should stop whingeing and let him go.

On a day when Canberra were flogged 68-4 by Melbourne, the Raiders confronted their worst nightmare with Milford - the NRL's next rising star - officially wanting out.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Milford's manager Sam Ayoub has written to Raiders boss Don Furner wishing to activate a get-out clause at season's end relating to family illness.

The move is definitive evidence Milford wants to return to his sick father in Brisbane. It appears he will be in Broncos colours in 2014, despite Canberra's desperate fight to keep him.

Milford, who scored Canberra's only try in Sunday's drubbing, told The Courier-Mail he would put "family first" when deciding his NRL future.

The Raiders have taken legal advice and indicated they will play hardball to ensure Milford honours the final year of his Canberra deal next season.

But Ayoub hit back Sunday night, confirming Milford wants out of Canberra after a week of speculation about his future.

The leading player agent said he would take the issue "further" - possibly to the NRL or Rugby League Players Association - if the Raiders refused to honour the get-out clause in his Canberra contract.

"I have written to Canberra asking them to favourably consider a release, in accordance with the clause in the contract that they agreed to at the time," Ayoub said.

"When they agreed to the clause, they acknowledged it would be a possibility Anthony would one day have to return home. Now that time has come.

"The Raiders can't whinge about this. We had the clause put in there, it was there to serve a purpose, Canberra agreed to it. Unfortunately for them the timing of that purpose has arrived."

Ayoub made it clear Milford's request for a release was motivated by family, with doctors last month preventing father Halo, 49, from moving to Canberra after a heart attack last year.

He said there had been no dialogue with any NRL rival, although the Broncos are favoured to sign Milford, who plans to return to family at season's end.

"This has nothing to do with more money, or the Broncos, the Cowboys or the Titans," Ayoub said.

"Will the Raiders take responsibility if something happens to his father while Anthony is away?

"There is no good Canberra trying to blame everybody else for the fact his old man is crook.

"They knew he was ill, that's why we asked for the illness clause, and all of a sudden because the kid is going great they don't want to show the same consideration they said they would.

"It can be activated at any time during the course of the contract, and that time has arrived.

"The Raiders have done everything possible to help Milford settle. The boom utility has lived with the family of Canberra teammate Josh Papalii, who also hails from Brisbane and understands the close-knit culture of Polynesian clans.

If the issue was purely about football, chances are Milford would happily stay in Canberra. But the Queensland under-20s skipper admits he was profoundly affected by Halo's heart attack last year.

"I want what is best for my family at the moment," Milford told The Courier-Mail.

"I guess I have to (look at returning home) at this time. I am blessed with what the Raiders have done for me. But my family is real special to me, football comes and goes, but your family is always in your life.

"So I will look after them first and do what is best for them."

Asked if he would be at the Raiders next year, Milford said: "I am contracted for next year, but I'm not sure what the Raiders will do. I will just focus on my football for now and see what happens.

"My dad was in that situation last year. I am a family person and I look after my parents first.

"Family is the No.1 thing for us Polynesian people. Especially moving away from home, I am not used to it because we are used to staying together, being close and looking after each other.

"Dad is better than he was last year but he is still ill. He has check-ups every week and that is ongoing. The doctors said the family won't be able to move down because of Dad, he can't travel down."

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bring on ASADA says Toovs

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Manly Sea Eagles Coach Geoff Toovey. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

MANLY coach Geoff Toovey has come forward to claim his club has never breached any ASADA "protocols or procedures".

Toovey on Sunday gave The Daily Telegraph an exclusive sit-down interview where he predicted his looming interview with ASADA would be "very short".

Bulldog: What do you make of the overall ASADA investigation?

Toovey: It has dragged on for long enough. I think we should get into the meat of it. ASADA is interviewing people over the next month or so. Hopefully something will come of that, either a positive or a negative which we will deal with and move on.

Bulldog: Two of those to be interviewed are your players, Brett Stewart and Anthony Watmough. 

Toovey: I know there are players at our club that need to be interviewed. The club has stayed out of that, it is meant to be a confidential issue. I would imagine everyone would respect their privacy and confidentiality until the process is over.

Bulldog: Has Manly got anything to worry about? 

Toovey: As far as I am concerned, I have never been aware of Manly breaching any protocols or procedures in regards to the ASADA drug policies.

Bulldog: So you have never seen anything untoward? 

Toovey: Never.

Bulldog: Do you know Steve Dank? 

Toovey: I probably said four words to him over all the time he was at the club.

Bulldog: You also have to be interviewed, Geoff. 

Toovey: Yes, that's true.

Bulldog: What are you expecting to be asked? 

Toovey: I am expecting it to be a very short interview.

Bulldog: What will they ask you? 

Toovey: I have no idea. As Sergeant Schultz says (in TV show Hogan's Heroes), "I know nothing.' They said, "Follow the procedures," so I am going along with that.

Bulldog: Will you co-operate? 

Toovey: Of course I will co-operate. I've got nothing to tell them.

Bulldog: NRL CEO Dave Smith wants everyone to tell the truth. 

Toovey: I can only speak on my own behalf. I will be telling the truth because there is nothing really to tell.

Bulldog: Recapping. Manly, in your opinion, will be cleared? 

Toovey: Our staff are professional. We will go through the process and deal with any outcomes and move on.

Bulldog: How do Manly keep winning despite the angst at board level? 

Toovey: Those matters are probably blown out of proportion, which happens from time to time. The sporting business is a competitive environment and, at the end of the day, the players and football group need to get on with their business. The other stuff, we don't need to read things in the paper because some of it is a bit over-the-top. We are sure those issues will be sorted out.

Bulldog: Do you protect your players from the squabbling in the boardroom? 

Toovey: I don't think it is a major issue.

Bulldog: Manly, are you where you want to be on the field? 

Toovey: I have said over the past month that we have been fortunate to have a very stable roster in regards to injuries and suspensions. The more we can get a quality group of players on the field, the better you are. But, again, that won't matter if you don't have those players available come semi-final time. The next goal is to make sure everyone is fit and firing in another month's time.

Bulldog: Did that big loss to Melbourne in the grand final qualifier last year change you as a coach? 

Toovey: It didn't change me but it's funny though how you realise that you can't control everything. The players were at a loss too. If you're one per cent off in a game, against a quality team, you are going to get beaten convincingly, which is what happened.

Bulldog: That was a theory going around that, after that heavy loss, you decided to take more control. 

Toovey: No, not really. I think the players realised the season had finished and they hadn't performed at their best that one time and it was all over. That's the hard thing about semi-final football ... if you're not "on" that day then you are wasting your time.

Bulldog: Is there one thing you would like changed in rugby league? 

Toovey: I would like to see more resources put into the grassroots of the game. It is a tough, competitive environment out there, particularly around this area, like other areas, competing for exposure and membership.

***

GEOFF Toovey says the stress of coaching an NRL team is enormous.

Bulldog: Manly has now made the finals in nine successive seasons. Love or hate Manly, you have to respect them.

Toovey: It is a real credit to the players and coaching staff over those years. Manly has a good culture. That culture hasn't just been there for the past nine years - it has been there for several decades. It is a positive place to play football and a great environment to live.

Bulldog: I have always admired Manly's mental toughness.

Toovey: This club has a lot of history and a lot of successful history. It is a culture that has been formed over many years and many decades.

Bulldog: Some suggested - and I was one of them - that you had an ageing roster and were on the slide.

Toovey: You can't underestimate experience although you do need to develop your youth, which is what we have done. We have been fortunate in our development with players in key positions that will hopefully be there for many years to come.

Bulldog: When Des Hasler left Brookvale, many were suggesting doom and gloom. Were you ready for the top job?

Toovey: Like any successful team or club, when there is dramatic change, people tend to talk about the negatives. But there is a lot more to a club than an individual player or coach. It's important that the culture and environment remains stable, no matter what happens.

Bulldog: Is coaching at NRL level 24-7?

Toovey: It's not but it does put a lot of stress on your life. Any coach would admit that. It does become all-consuming at times but it's not something I think of - apart from a couple of coaches - that you could do all your life. It is very much a moving landscape and whilst there you have to envelope yourself in the role and do your best.

Bulldog: Do you have a social life?

Toovey: It is difficult, particularly if you have a family. It is tough on many people in your life that aren't involved in football.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Battle on all fronts

James Hird's Essendon is under pressure. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

IT was the perfect storm for Essendon.

It came three-fold in the first quarter at the MCG and the consequences could affect the remainder of its season.

Foremost it was Collingwood and a relentless first 30 minutes that yielded 5.3 to 0.2 in pouring rain.

The Pies won the disposal count 121-73, contested ball 47-29, tackles 22-14 and inside-50s 19-11.

It was Collingwood of yesteryear, or at least at its absolute best: Oppressive with pressure, workrate, numbers at the contest and wonderful spread.

Secondly, Essendon's attitude was shot.

Players were either second to the ball or pushed off the ball. They coughed it up, fumbled, their workrate was poor, and soon enough the Bombers' coaching staff had so many spotfires it would've looked like an inferno.

Then the Dons lost half-back flanker Courtenay Dempsey, who was gone with a hamstring injury.

Hindsight is easy, but the game was over by the quarter-time siren.

Thirdly, moments before the game, the Dons confirmed they had the ASADA report from the AFL.
 

That had no bearing on the effort. You have to ask, however, what bearing it had in the build up.

Coach James Hird has been savaged for several weeks, culminating with former high-performance manager Dean Robinson unloading in a paid interview on Wednesday night.

The players threw their support behind the coach, but on Friday night the same players would have been anxious about what was in the ASADA report, which was in the hands of the AFL.

After seven months, their anxiety choked them as much as the Magpies.

Clearly, the Bombers were shellshocked.

Maybe it was mental exhaustion that led to physical exhaustion. Certainly, it was a ferocious Collingwood.

Arguably, it was both.

Essendon's season is on the cliff edge.

They will play finals but don't appear capable of being a threat to anyone.

They have been munched in the dry and in the wet by Hawthorn and the Magpies in consecutive weeks.

While Richmond, Fremantle, Collingwood and Port Adelaide approach September with confidence, the Bombers are laboring.

Pick just about any Essendon player and there's a query about an aspect of their game. For example, Jake Carlisle (in the air), David Myers (efficiency), Jake Melksham (consistency), Brent Stanton (clearances), Travis Colyer (impact), Nick Kommer (impact) and even Dustin Fletcher (body on body).

In 2012 they gave up the ghost at Round 15. This year it appears it was Round 18.

Of course, yesterday wasn't about cry me a river for the losers. The Magpies were magnificent.

In the conditions, they had numbers at the contest, had numbers free at the back to rebound, were first to the ball, and tackled as if the mantra was lay three tackles or be dropped.

Fourteen players laid three or more tackles, led by Heath Shaw and Jarryd Blair with eight each.

They had winners everywhere and a winning attitude everywhere.

At the back, Steele Sidebottom continues to be a masterful tactical move, and he and Heath Shaw, Marley Williams and Ben Sinclair gave the Magpies rebound and attack.

Harry O'Brien as a defensive wingman left Brendon Goddard waving his arms more than usual, Swan and Pendlebury had 30 and 26 respectively, Ball and Blair were torpedos with their intensity, Beams just glides on his way to collecting 25-plus possessions and ruckman Brodie Grundy is beyond his years.

The rest of them all played their role: Maxwell, Keeffe and Brown at the back, Dwyer down the wing, Cloke kicked five, Reid three and Jamie Elliott three, and Quinten Lynch was back to early-season form.

It was a complete performance. The issue is making yesterday's effort the norm. It's Sydney this week, and they don't have mental demons knocking on their door.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mitcham slams Russia's anti-gay law

Olympic gold medallist Matthew Mitcham. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: DailyTelegraph

OLYMPIAN Matthew Mitcham says new Russian laws, which would see athletes at next year's Sochi Winter Olympics jailed if they are involved in any type of gay pride activities, are "horrific".

The Russian government has warned those who wear a rainbow pin or T-shirt or wave the gay pride flag face jail terms under laws signed off by President Vladimir Putin in June. Even gay couples holding hands is illegal.

The gold medal-winning diver from the 2008 Beijing Games said the laws were in violation of basic human rights.

"It's really sad," Mitcham said.

"The way they are persecuting people in Russia is quite horrific."

Mitcham said Russia's stance would hinder performances and take away the joy of the Games experience.

"The Olympics is the best experience you will ever have as an athlete," he said.

"Their whole memory and experience is going to be marred by this stuff. They are going to be made to feel unacceptable, inappropriate, and it is a really awful, awful feeling.

"The Olympics are supposed to be somewhere where they can go to be relieved of that feeling.

"A place where you can compete and feel that gender and sexuality is not an issue."

The International Olympic Committee said it had "received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games".

But Russia's Sports Minister Vitaly L. Mutko said Olympic athletes travelling to Russia would be expected to obey the new law.

Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Mike Tancred said they supported the IOC's statement but would encourage their athletes to respect Russian law.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stars will land on the cap-heap

Anthony Minichiello, captain of the Sydney Roosters. Source: Matt King / Getty Images

IF ever there was a reason for an urgent inquest into the NRL salary cap, this is it.

While the rich get richer, rugby league's foot soldiers - made up of more than 60 NRL players - have just five weeks to save their careers.

The list ranges from former Test stars, premiership-winners, 200-plus game performers and players on less than $80,000.

The brutal truth of the situation is that more than half will end up on rugby league's scrapheap.

The NRL have been harassed in recent weeks to loosen the cap in order to lure rugby union's Israel Folau, Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper to the game, but this story is about the players that prop the entire game up week-in and week-out.

Despite Newcastle's Craig Gower proving at 35 in his comeback to the NRL that age is just a number, the likes of Anthony Minichiello, David Stagg, Matt Bowen, Luke O'Donnell, Ben Ross and Willie Tonga head a long list of players who could be forced into retirement.

An unprecedented number of elite players signing with clubs in 2013 is one of the major reasons for the talent overflow this year.

Sixty per cent of every club's $5.15 million salary cap goes to top 10 players from each team. The top three players of every club's roster suck up 25 per cent of the cap. That leaves just 15 per cent of the cap for the rest of every club's top-25 roster.

It has been a seller's market for next season with the likes of representative stars Johnathan Thurston ($1 million), Robbie Farah ($850,000), Jarryd Hayne ($800,000), Todd Carney ($700,000), Gareth Widdop ($620,000) and Josh Reynolds ($600,000) in a position to nominate the biggest salaries of their careers.

A percentage increase of the recent $1 billion TV deal which was also written into the majority of elite players' contracts has also impacted how much money is remaining in every club's salary cap while the depreciating UK Super League competition and the poor English pound is no longer considered a last chance saloon for players.

After canvassing opinion from NRL club chief executives, coaches and player agents, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the faces the NRL should remember when they conduct an "extensive review" of the cap during the off season.

Steve Gillis, a player agent with over 30 years experience in the game who has managed the careers of Laurie Daley, Petero Civoniceva, John Sutton and Brett Finch, described the situation as tragic.

"It's a tragedy that these guys have contributed over many years to build the product and the value of the game for the gain of the new TV deal, but then they face getting squeezed as a result of the elite players getting a larger slice of the pie," Gillis said.

"It's something that the RLPA need to urgently address with Jim Doyle.

"I think we need to urgently investigate making allowances for bottom-tier players to earn match payments irrespective of the implications they have on the cap.

"These are the guys that have spilt blood, sweat and tears to encapsulate the new TV deal yet they're getting funnelled to the bottom.

"The game is rewarding the elite."

For the many players that are refusing to believe the dream is over, the next six weeks represents everything as they attempt to prove they are worth another shot.

Manly's David Williams is one player who looks set to continue his career in NRL despite still being without a deal for 2014. Manly are eager to keep the former Test winger, but attention from Craig Bellamy at the Melbourne Storm could draw him away from the club.

The Broncos have also told Scott Prince and Peter Wallace they are free to negotiate with other clubs for next season while Souths' Andrew Everingham is weighing up an offer from Japanese Rugby union.

Players off contract for 2014:

KNIGHTS

Zane Tetevano, Matt Hilder, Chris Adams, Neville Costigan, Timana Tahu, Siuatonga Likiliki, Peter Mata'utia, Anthony Quinn, Ryan Stig, Josh Mantellato, Craig Gower

COWBOYS

Anthony Mitchell, Antonio Winterstein, Clint Greenshields, Scott Bolton, Glenn Hall, Blake Leary

PANTHERS

Nathan Smith, Ryan Simpkins, Cameron Ciraldo, Geoff Daniela, Danny Galea, Clint Newton, Travis Robinson

DRAGONS

Bronx Goodwin, Matt Cooper, Junior Vaivai, Leeson Ah Mau, Nathan Fien, Will Matthews, Matt Prior, Chase Stanley, Charly Runciman

SHARKS

Nathan Gardner, John Morris, Ben Pomeroy, Ben Ross, Jon Green, Stewart Mills, Mark Taufua, Matt Wright, Nathan Stapleton

RABBITOHS

Shaun Corrigan, Matt King, Thomas Burgess, Michael Crocker, Andrew Everingham

EELS

Ben Roberts, Matt Keating, Taniela Lasalo, Willie Tonga, Nathan Smith, Jake Mullaney, Pat O'Hanlon, Api Pewhairangi, Brayden Williame, Cheyse Blair, Vai Toutai

TIGERS

Marika Koriobete, Matt Groat, Joel Reddy, Matt Utai, Lote Tuqiri, Sean Meaney, Matt Bell, Masada Iosefa

ROOSTERS

Anthony Minichello, Sonny Bill Williams, Jack Bosden, Nafe Seluini

WARRIORS

Nathan Friend, Steve Rapira,Jerome Ropati

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