http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...m-to-the-broncos/story-fniabjcr-1227560937609BRISBANE are still dusting off their hangovers from Sunday night’s grand final but already Next Year’s Team that surprisingly nearly emerged as This Year’s Team is about to get stronger.
Just days after the grand final, the Broncos were linked to a *return to the NRL for Ben Te’o.
The irony of rugby league is that often the less said about something the more chance it is of happening and the Broncos have been overwhelmingly silent on this.
Te’o is playing at Leinster and, with another year to run, would seem at strong odds to remain in Ireland.
Unless, of course, his partner has already moved back to Brisbane, which she already has.
Te’o can’t simply follow because the NRL has this little thing called the salary cap, which is designed to stop clubs like the Broncos securing all the talent, like they used to do.
Even the Broncos’ absolute advantage with third-party corporate sponsorships can’t help entirely.
The NRL refuses to reveal how much each club spends on third-party agreements because it would swiftly negate the game’s great claim about how even the salary cap makes the competition.
Several times in recent weeks NRL boss Dave Smith has quoted the evenness of the competition, the great boast of the NRL, even though it no longer completely adds up.
Ben Te'o could be on his way back to the NRL Picture: Gregg PorteousWhile there was a period during the season when the gap between first and last was the closest ever, it had stretched by season’s end.
The top eight was decided a week out from the finals and once we got into the finals none of the bottom-four teams was able to beat the top-four teams.
Uncapped third-party agreements are causing the great *divide in the NRL.
The Broncos can’t simply push Te’o in on a reduced contract and hope the wonderfully generous Brisbane business community will see fit to reward him with third-party deals because there is also this idea of a notional contract value.
It says the NRL salary cap auditors reserve the right to judge a player’s minimal value unless some kind of funny business might be going on, such as reducing a player’s salary cap value while making up his true value with third-party deals.
Unless, of course, what can’t be done has actually already been done before. Before Mark Gasnier returned to the Dragons in June 2010, he began talks with Red V coach Wayne Bennett the previous December.
So why not bring Te’o into the club under similar circumstances as Gasnier?
It couldn’t possibly happen.
Ben Te'o is currently overseas playing rugby in Ireland. Picture: Brett CostelloIt would be virtually impossible for Te’o to join the club right away. There is no room in the salary cap and the NRL would be in no mind to allow the Broncos to plead, because he was returning from European rugby and did not play in the NRL this season, for a reduced value.
Unless, of course, Te’o returned after next season started or perhaps some way into it and pleaded diminished value.
Unless, of course, he pleaded some kind of hardship and the NRL saw the value in welcoming him back to show why the good ones leave for rugby union but always come back.
And so he would go into the Broncos’ salary cap at tier-two level. That would still leave Te’o at some financial disadvantage.
Unless, of course, while Te’o was biding his time he played this summer in Japan, earning a lot of money for minimal wear and tear that would also, fortunately, make up for the reduced Broncos contract.
Then he could return next season sometime after round one. It sounds crazy, even far-fetched. Unless, of course ...
