Dream Team On The Cusp Of Realism (2012)

For those of you aficionados of Rugby League who have yet to found themselves thrust into the world of Fantasy Football or Dream teams, here’s a brief run down:

*You pick a squad of 25 players (Just like in the NRL)
*You have a salary cap (Just like in the NRL)

Because player wages are mostly speculation to us plebeians, a value for each player is calculated based on each individual’s strengths and weaknesses, statistically.

Each week, every player earns points for scoring tries, goals and field goals, tackles made, off loads, hit ups, line breaks, line break assists and 40/20 kicks. They also lose points for missing goals and field goals, missed tackles, penalties conceded, handling errors, being sin binned and being sent off.

When you think about it, it’s a very good gauge as to a players overall worth.

It’s a system where good performance is rewarded, poor performance is penalised. I love a statistically basic but exceptionally accurate concept attached to work ethics and morals so as to create realistic values for players in a virtual game for the greater public, don’t you?

Now this is all a very fun game and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands people nationwide. But is that all it should be?

Given all of the debacles that happen every year with clubs exceeding the salary cap, some by small amounts, others more excessively, perhaps it’s time that a players value was dictated by their actual performance on the field and not by which player manager runs enough rumours around town to drive up their clients asking price.

Imagine a competition where players could only improve their value by working harder.

Crazy concept I know, but stay with me.

Poor behaviour gets punished as well.

Calm down, I know the idea is sounding preposterous, but I’m pretty sure there are some people left in this crazy world whose workplace runs along similar guidelines.

In this crazy otherworld dimension, Corey Parker would be the games’ greatest player and possibly being touted as the next immortal. Only Paul Gallen would be close to being his equal.

Players like Michael Gordon, Shaun Fensom, Aiden Tolman, Ashley Harrison, Liam Fulton, Jake Friend, David Stagg and Dave Taylor would be regular test players.

It would also mean regular rep players like Justin Hodges, Adam Blair, Willie Tonga, Manu Vatuvei, Greg Inglis and Keiran Foran wouldn’t even be regarded as one of the best 100 players in the game today.

It would also see the minimum wage increased by $17,000, which is not a bad thing, especially when the highest paid player is earning under $500,000. The NRL always talks about evening out the competition, well evening out player wages is just one facet of achieving that goal.

By having player wages based on performances only, it also allows for a more even competition and more importantly, an end to those pesky parasites known as player managers, an increase in the average player salary across the board, thus reducing the risk of players betting on games etc.

As you can see, we are solving quite a lot of problems just through a magnificent concept knocked up purely for the purposes of mucking about.

This system also allows us to see which teams are over the cap right now. After some extensive research and calculations, using player values obtained from the Dream Team competition on the Daily Telegraph website, combined with the 25 man squads as listed in the official 2012 season guide, we can immediately see which teams need an audit for exceeding the $4.4 Million Salary Cap which the NRL currently has in place.

Brisbane - $4,621,496
Gold Coast - $4,451,832
Melbourne - $4,586,648
Newcastle - $4,480,256
North Queensland - $4,695,504
Parramatta - $4,476,296
Cronulla - $4,625,984
St. George-Illawarra - $4,444,352

These 8 clubs are currently over by a combined total of $1,182,368, while the other 8 clubs are under by a combined total of $1,318,416.

This system thereby gives us a fair and level competition on the field and on the books.

We could make these cheating clubs shed players to the honourable teams, or we could strip them of all their premiership points for 2012.

At least then, Souths would be able to play finals footy again….

….It truly all is just a dream!