SALARY CAPS

AFL Cairns to introduce salary cap in bid to even playing field

AFL Cairns is set to revolutionise its competition, with a salary cap to be introduced in 2018.

In a move that will pull the Far North into line with leagues in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, spending will become a greater focus in a bid to put downward pressure on spiralling player payments and even out lopsided competition between the small and wealthy.

While AFL Cairns has not set a figure, president Gary Young said introducing a salary cap next season was a preventive measure.

Across the seven senior clubs, it is understood spending can vary from $30,000 to over $100,000.

At a recent AFL Cairns presidents’ meeting, clubs were invited to openly display their spending from 2016 to gauge where a potential cap would be set, with the majority of clubs not willing to hand over the figures.

“AFL Cairns prides itself on forward planning and what we are doing is not out of line in what leagues are doing in Victoria and Western Australia,” Young said.

“We do not want clubs getting out of their depths in the future, spending and spending, and then getting outside of their capacity and then falling over because of it.

“We will be working with clubs over 2017, they are pretty keen to be involved in the process.

“Our thinking is a salary cap would be preventive, not reactionary.

“We do not have a problem at the moment in terms of spending.”

Young said a potential “marquee allowance” could be introduced, outside the salary cap, to help entice former AFL players to the region.

AFL Cairns has had a player points system in place for seven years which aims to promote a dynamic, competitive competition providing stability for clubs. Manunda Hawks president Richard Martin is unsure how the salary cap would be controlled.

“Everyone is reasonably happy with the idea in principle but the clubs with more money are not going to be happy with it because it will reduce their spend,” Martin said. “But, the clubs that do not have a lot of money, a salary cap will make no impact.

“The real issue is how the cap will be policed.”

Port Douglas coach Brad Cooper agreed policing would be a concern.

“I think a salary cap needs to come in because you have clubs like South Cairns, Centrals Trinity Beach and the like with gaming rooms,” Cooper said.

“They generate big sources of income, that needs to have a tab on it.

“Clubs that do not have them, you could not compete with the clubs that have them.”

Big Q&A with Charlie Dixon Tomorrow’s Cairns Post