Better get in first

[sainter]

Below is the article written by Caroline Wilson in today's Age that will most probably create quite a bit of discussion when the natives wake up tomorrow morning.

I have decided to highlight specific paragraphs that I consider to be most important.

While I'm sure this news is something that a portion of opposition supporters will relish, it looks at this stage that any possible breach is due to the excessive injury list that we have had.

I didn't see Talking Footy tonight, perhaps Caro mentioned this on the show. Whatever happens, we may have to baton down the hatches and start defending the club.



Saints fear salary-cap fine

By CAROLINE WILSON

St Kilda has disclosed that it could face a five-figure fine from the AFL over a potential breach of the salary cap.

The Saints are expected to throw themselves at the mercy of the AFL Commission following the club's devastating run of injuries, which continued last weekend with the loss of skipper Robert Harvey for the season.

The club is completing its mid-year review for AFL investigations manager Michael Easy.

It is believed the potential breach - which will not be fully revealed until the end of the season - may relate in part to St Kilda's decision to promote Stephen Milne from the rookie list shortly after the start of the season, following the departure of Sean Charles.

The club's football operations manager, Brian Waldron, emphasised that the pressure on the salary cap was not related to St Kilda's pre-season buying spree that took Aaron Hamill, Fraser Gehrig, Steven Lawrence and Matthew Capuano to Moorabbin.

''We're under pressure given what is deemed by everyone as being an extraordinary bad run with injuries,'' Waldron said.

''Any club who lost players of the calibre of Robert Harvey, Nathan Burke and Stewart Loewe for extended periods would be.

''But we are still confident given the remainder of the season that we might be OK.''

Despite carrying an excess of more than $100,000 from 2000 to its 2001 player payments, St Kilda's total player payments have been stretched because the club has lost players on set contracts and been forced to promote footballers on match payments well beyond its predictions.

''Last year our injury payments totalled $117,000,'' said Waldron.

''In conjunction with the AFL we put in $207,000 into our total injury repayments (the maximum allowed under the AFL's formula) this year.''

After 10 rounds last season, senior St Kilda players had lost 23 games through injury compared with 56 games after the same period this season.

St Kilda and the AFL have been talking regularly in an attempt to resolve the problem.

The club will submit its mid-year payment estimates to the AFL within a fortnight and the club's situation will be assessed by Easy and the league's football operations general manager, Andrew Demetriou.

Should the club's on-field misfortunes continue or its current expectations prove too optimistic, any potential breach would be considered by the AFL Commission.

Demetriou said yesterday: ''The rules do provide for some flexibility should a club suffer bona fide injuries.''

In 1999 the AFL and Richmond struck a deal over the Tigers' 1999 salary-cap problems, which resulted in the club being fined $10,000 for breaching the player rules and the league ending its investigation of the club's total player payments.

The Tigers had promoted Ben Holland from the rookie list against the advice of the AFL.

 

[karnaby]

Two, nah three points:

1.. To Mess'rs Berry, Oliver & Wittison, best you boys keep practicing the Springvale theme song, looks like there ain't no room for you in the big league this year.

2..Why oh why do we pay so close to the top of the salary cap? If we aim for ~95-96% it gives us room to reward performance and allows for our current sort of difficulties. (I'm no financial whiz but I just can't see how/why we pay so much when there is leeway to be circumspect {yeh, correct spelling }

3..If I was a current Saints player (ha) and my contract expired at the end of this year I'd be working my butt off to try and impress, I'd probably also have a read of the corey mckernan book - on how to give something back to your club. Otherwise it's see you later guys.

 

[Hit The Boundary Saints]

I read the article, and then thought it wasn't worth the banner headline and mention on Page 1 of the News section.
So what!
If it is due to injuries, especially to key players who are not on mainly performance based contracts, then we have no case to answer.

 

[Savatage]

Exactly correct MR Hit the Boundary.

Demitriou even stated that the rules allow leniency in situations where a ridiculous amount of injuries have occured.

The lady is a bitch.

 

[StrengthThroughLoyalty]

its usc not caroline wilson

first let me say that i am going to follow the kangaroo supporters lead by referring to caroline wilson as usc, simply because i think it's funny and true.

once again usc has tried to drum up a big story when there really isn't one, absolute storm in a tea cup. if we are to go over the salary cap it's because of the indefinate figure the club has to provide to cover for injuries. demetriou states that 'there will be some flexibility regarding our predicament' and as we have come forward early i can't see that there will be to much of a problem.

once again usc has to mention richmond every time she speaks or writes anything about us. in her last sensationalist crappy article about the saints she managed to mention that danny frawley was so strong on discipline at richmond because he didn't want his team turning out like all the 'boozers' at the saints. when she writes a hard hitting article about why richmond have been so crap over the last 23 years then i might take some notice of what she writes, but even then i doubt it.