NRL: Storm probe could benefit Warriors

Mark Gasnier's playing future is caught up in the Storm debacle. Photo / Getty Images

A flood is coming after the Storm - and there is still a faint chance it could benefit the Warriors.

Player contracts which would normally be settled by this time of year are not - and registration of NRL contracts has been delayed by a month until after round 17 on July 5.

The playing futures of top players like Mark Gasnier and Brent Tate remain undecided and are also caught up in the Storm aftermath.

The Melbourne salary cap rort and subsequent investigation is the reason for the delay and the NRL has also said clubs can sign players even after July 5 with special dispensation.

The delay is designed to allow officials to sift through the debris from the Storm's cheating which has left clubs in a holding pattern. Once it is established how much money and how many players Melbourne has to shed, clubs will launch into a bidding war - and spending spree - to snaffle big-name players.

Off-contract players outside the 'star' bracket will then be forced to decide their futures relatively quickly and their agents negotiating position could be weakened by the money spent on the bigger names.

Player agent Jim Banaghan says: "There is a backlog of players coming off contract and there will be a mad rush once a couple of contracts are sorted. A few clubs have cash to splash around next year so some lucrative offers could be made for Storm players.

"The problem is that it is a wish list, and the Storm could hang on to all their players if they had the mechanism to do it [by taking a pay cut]. Normally at this stage of the season a lot more contracts would be close to being sorted."

The NRL salary cap is $4.1m a club but extra payments are allowed through sponsors and subsidies like education and travel allowances.

The overall figure a club can spend on its roster is expected to rise.

One notable area will be among senior players who have been at a club for eight years or more. Each club currently receives $100,000 if they have such a player or players.

There is speculation those funds could increase to $300,000. There are also moves to allow a proportion of extra payments for players of four years' standing.

"A marquee player could be paid anything if you had a suitable set of sponsors," says Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah.

"The important thing is that the ability to earn is simplified under the new structure."

What this means for the Warriors is they will theoretically be in the mix to pick up a bargain - or a star - if they cannot retain Tate. But recruitment manager Dean Bell says it is unwise to pin all the club's hopes on such a plan.

"We're quite happy with our recruitment at the moment, picking up the likes of Feleti Mateo and Krisnan Inu. Our development programme is paying dividends with players like Ukuma Ta'ai coming through. Alternatively, you can keep your powder dry ... but I don't think it's worth it."

St George may well be able to take advantage of these moves in its pursuit of Gasnier. The centre could be awarded a lucrative contract - but may choose to have it set up so he receives a smaller amount to start and the bulk of his salary a few years in.

However, that too raises the prospects of St George bumping up against the salary cap ceiling in the later stages - meaning the Dragons may then have to unload players.

"Some claim that type of thinking is against the spirit of the cap but at the moment it is legal," Banaghan says. "It's another mechanism for using the cap to keep younger players in and extend the life of older players. Clubs will keep doing it until told otherwise."

Such a strategy means the Warriors could struggle to make a bid for such a player - but Scurrah is relaxed about it and says clubs have to play to their financial strengths.

"For me the only problem with bringing Gasnier back in that fashion is the fact he'd be on the field when we play them," he joked. "I think it's great bringing players like that [Gasnier] back into the NRL [through creative means]. Congratulations to the Dragons if they can do it."

The salary cap change could also have a major impact on the Storm.

Captain Cameron Smith is in his ninth year so next season could be eligible for a salary increase under the adjusted system.

If he co-operates through a cut so his salary remains manageable, it could extend the Melbourne careers of several team-mates.