Quote Ferocious Aardvark="Ferocious Aardvark"It strikes me that people see the signings Salford make, jump to some vague and purely bull conclusion that "it must be in breach of quotas, well, stands to sense, innit" without knowing the numbers or checking the rules, and then post indignant bilge.
I'm sorry, but do you really think Salford would sign a player and commit to big money without first knowing for a fact that their quota rules were in order? And that the player and his agent would be so stupid too? Really?
Do you not know that in order to sign a player, you have to register him, lodge his contract etc and the RFL monitors eligibility etc "live"?
Or maybe all the above, but without even knowing the quota categories or what players fall into which, you'd rather accuse the RFL of a conspiracy to relax the rules in Salford's case - a conspiracy which of course ALL the other competing SL clubs are happy to overlook.
FFS, get a grip, people. To me, it's great that another club - in this case, Salford, but it could be anybody, I don't care - is maing a big noise, a big splash, and a big effort. All concerned should be applauded, and I look forward to watching Nobby's New Salford over the next few years to see how he puts it all together.'"
It would've helped if the RFL had announced the quota changes to the fans though, that way people would've understood better. I - you're average joe fan - read it this last Monday in a small article in [iLeague Express[/i and came to the conclusion this may explain Salford signings.
There was a theory Smith was off-quota to allow Wakefield to use the money, that would stack up. Also similar happened with Crusaders and their exemptions.
Also, an immediate example of registering players, London signed Jarrad Hickey in 2012 and couldn't play him due to their being no room under the quota at that time. So it can happen.
Some fans shout off and look like a fool, some ask the question of how and others say nothing and then finger wag later.