If The Cap Fits....

After a disasterous start to the season, it was begining to look likely that Wigan Warriors, under the guidance of Brian Noble, had turned their season around.




Six wins from Seven had seen the men from the JJB open a two point gap between them and relegation rivals Wakefield at the foot of the table. For a club that almost created the most remarkable of 'fall from grace' tale of all time, the season was looking somewhat more rosey, albeit still one of disapointment after being touted for great things pre-season.

But despite the endeavours of the players and coaching staff, they forgot one key factor.

The RFL salary cap audit yesterday found Wigan Warriors guilty of a £80,000 overspend on player salarys for the season 2005. As a result, Wigan's future is once again looking precarious, after a two league point deduction has dropped them back into the relegation dogfight. Five other clubs have also been found guilty of breaches. Wakefield, Castleford, Hull and St Helens have all been found guilty of minor breaches, with Wakefield and Castleford being cautioned whilst the Saints and Hull have been fined. Bradford Bulls however have a case to answer regarding a more serious breach, and they may too suffer the same fate as Wigan

For some Rugby League supporters, Wigan's breach might not come as a suprise. Even after Wigan's two-year immunity from the cap ended in 2003, cynics have always been dubious of Maurice Lindsay's alleged 'elasticated' cap and this years antics, which included the £400,000 signing of Stuart Fielden, the "re-signing" of Kris Radlinski and the mid-season captues of Nathan McAvoy and Michael Dobson, have left many already speculating on what punishment Wigan will pick up next season.

Warriors fans in general however may be somewhat more perplexed by this breach, given the poor season Wigan had in 2005 where they missed out on the Super League play-offs for the first time since their inception in 1998 and suffered a record 70-0 defeat at the hands of Leeds, followed the week later by and even more humilating 75-0 cup defeat to St Helens.

The recruitment at the JJB has been often criticised. Lindsay has often brought in the big names from down under, but they have rarely performed. In recent seasons, Aside from the likes of Renouf, Lam and Dallas, the players have not lived up to the high expectations. In 2005, Luke Davico didn't pull on the shirt in a competitive game, SeuSeu's career was ended after it emerged he suffered from Hepatitus B and Moran failed to repeat they try-scoring feats that he showed at London. All of these have been big money signings and it is the injuries that Lindsay cited as the reason for flouting the bye-laws of the game. In the pursuit of just being able to field a team, Liam Botham, Wayne McDonald and Jerome Guisset were all brought in.

Clearly Wigan have been overspending on players that have, purely and simply, failed to perform, be that through injury or poor form. For the more vocal of Warriors fans, Lindsay has to carry the can. His shopping trips to Sydney have arguably landed the club in the current mess, with the likes of Pat Richards and Scott Logan, amongst others, being the target of much criticism.
The fact that Wigan knowingly broke the rules is unforgivable. The powers that be at the JJB Stadium to felt that they could afford to spend more than their share, obviously not believing that they would be in a relegation battle 12 months later. That is just arrogance personified. There's also the irony that Warrior's owner Dave Whelan has been by far the most vocal in championing the use of a salary cap in football.

Many have said that Wigan's absence would be detremental to Super League, but if this is genuinly the kind of attitude that they have, then I won't be shedding a tear should they make the drop to the National League.
The profile of the game may be reduced, but it would to the intergrity of Super League the power of good.