All new contracts at HKR should be no more than 70k for the stars and no less than 20k for the local talent coming through.



All players then earn performance based pay and win bonuses.



The performances should be graded by the first team head coach (which would involve how hard the players have trained), the director of rugby (who would take in to account a players discipline on and off the field) and someone not directly involved with the players (to not have any favouritism). These are then averaged and the bonuses worked out.



Players would not only be more keen to perform on game day they would also be more interested through the week. We wouldn't be stopping the players earning a good living as a youngster earning 20k is a very good wage while 70k for a player like Vella is adequate to pay his bills and keep his family happy however if they really are 'that' good they'll be able to earn their £150k by playing to their potential.



The salary cap would be an issue however if all players had a limit on the maximum they could earn then when they do have a bad game (which has to be expected due to fatigue) their bonuses go in to an end of season bonus pot and that money is shared out among the 10 players who have performed the best in that season (up to the salary cap amount £1.65m).



Obviously certain aspects of this would have to be tinkered with but at the moment it seems the players are perfectly happy to take home their money without actually earning any of it.



I remember singing to a bunch of players who probably earnt collectively the same as Mick Vella, "ALL WE WANT IS A LITTLE BIT OF PRIDE, A LITTLE BIT OF PRIDE, A LITTLE BIT OF PRIDE". Those players were far and away nowhere near as talented or decorated as the ones pulling on the shirt now but I'll tell you something they did start playing with pride and the fans, although still not happy when losing, went home prepared to stick by those players and turn up the week after.



You have to ask if Rovers fans had not bought a season pass would our crowds be more like Harlequins numbers due to the high number of 'Glory supporters'?

Bank holidays are over nick hkr, put the booze away.



You've already identified one major flaw with your plan in that the salary cap would be incredibly difficult to administrate.



The other rather large problem would be who on earth whose any good is going to sign for for £70k with an opportunity to earn £150k that's dependant on a load of factors beyond their control such as other players performances and injuries when, Bradford, for example are offering said hypothetical player a guaranteed £120k?

I hope you didnt spend too long on that Nick.

Sounds great in theory but the players need to earn a living and you will struggle to recruit top players using that method. Players wont sign a contract for say 50k with the chance of a 50k bonus, they will just sign for the club that offers 80k with smaller bonuses.

I know it can not be done but years ago rovers players were on a win bonus that rolled over every game they won we once went 24 games unbeaten my daughter who went with us said don't they ever lose dad i said i hope not at the time we had players like Casey promey broadhurst g smith m smith happy days bring it back please

I certainly spent too long on my reply!

So no win, no fee's in effect

I get where he's coming from though, players at most clubs go through I comfort zone because they know they will get their wage no matter how they perform. As for they need to earn a living, all clubs have 25 players earning a minimum of £2,000 a month thats enough of a living for most people.

They're also on 2 year contracts so if they fail to perform they will be either out of work or lower paid for their next contract.



These players lose the ability to earn at 34 (earlier if they're unlucky) so gauging the wage against a 'normal' job isn't realistic. Its all about strength of managment, its the coaches job to ensure these players perform.

The salary cap issue isn't as hard as you would think. You calculate it on the maximum a player can earn. The fact the players performance is done indevidually along with how hard he works at training...etc means he could still earn a hefty amount.



The injury issue too would be dependant on your past performances in training, games and in general. You wouldn't get your full bonuses but you would still earn more than you would if you were playing and not doing great.



All players would get enough to live and more, the younger players would even earn better money than they would now. The ability for all players to earn more should encourage them to try harder.



It is quite evident at the moment our players are not focussed enough on playing for pride, passion or even for each other so if we took away the one thing that makes them tick maybe they would pull their fingers out.



I take it from this response that your all quite happy to be paying these players with your hard earned cash (that you have to work tirelessly for) to just put out average performances yet still be earning probably 5 times your salary? At least we'd know the players that were here wanted to play well all the time and not just when they could be bothered.

I agree with you nick I think in the 80's when the players played to earn an honest wage by playing with they're hearts we saw much more dedication from a team, what I cant understand is if the player isn't playing well surely they would know how hard it would be to get ie another contract or even another club look at Cooki for example still prob had a lot going for him and no club forth coming for him, I would drop the pay and pay it on bonuses a game and I think it would work.