National Rugby League side Canterbury Bulldogs' new management conceded the club cannot "be active in the transfer market" until '21 after inheriting a "salary cap mess that includes having up to 10 players entering the big money years of back-ended contracts next year," according to Adrian Proszenko of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The Bulldogs addressed the issues at a members forum on Thursday, "the first official communication since the new board swept to power in February." The summit, which included appearances from NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and Australian Rugby League Commission Chair Peter Beattie, "outlined the extent of the mess they inherited from the previous regime." Despite "the dramas," Canterbury CEO Andrew Hill and Chair Lynne Anderson "insist the blue and whites will be salary cap compliant next year" and that the situation is not "as dire as many predicted." The club still has five spots to fill in its top 30, but will not "be able to spend much more than minimum wage to fill them." The situation has arisen "because their predecessors worked towards an estimated salary cap figure" north of A$10M ($7.5M) for the current season, when the actual figure -- after months of collective bargaining agreement negotiations -- landed on A$9.4M ($7M) (SMH, 5/17). In Sydney, Brent Read reported Hill also addressed the players on Thursday amid myriad rumors "about some of their biggest names." Hill said that the Bulldogs "had not shopped any of their players to their rivals." Moses Mbye and David Klemmer have been "the names most bandied about in recent days." Both are believed to be on "the sort of deals that have left the club in a cap bind." The Bulldogs "will also no longer consider ratchet clauses," where wages are linked to rises in the salary cap, and will conduct player recruitment via a committee made up of Hill, coach Dean Pay, Dir Chris Anderson, recruitment manager Warren McDonnell and CFO Vince Costa. Hill: "We have limitations. The club has got some wonderfully experienced people in significant roles. We have to get through this little hurdle. Once we get past it, the future is incredibly bright. We have a challenge. We are rolling up our sleeves" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/18).
