Aug 14th, 2017

Aug 14th, 2017

The Bulldogs are considering taking legal action against the NRL over the salary cap farce that has left their ranks in tatters for next season.

The Bulldogs are likely to have to shed up to three players from their roster, with the NRL still not setting a firm figure for the cap for 2018.

Canterbury are telling their legal people that the NRL indicated to them - unofficially - that the cap would be close to $10 million for next season a few months ago… now it looks like being more like $9.2million.

Working on the $10 million figure, the Dogs signed big name stars Kieran Foran (Warriors) and Aaron Woods (Tigers) as well as putting many players on heavily back-ended contracts.

The Bulldogs will claim the NRL threw their ranks into disarray by continuing to delay the announcement of the salary cap increase for next season.

The club's problem is that many of the players they are trying to offload - the likes of the Morris brothers, James Graham and Moses Mbye - are on such big money deals that few rival clubs could afford them.

It has left the club in a mess for next season, on top of the disastrous on-field performances this year that have fans seething.

The club's board is under massive pressure - particularly with elections looming early next year - and the possibility of legal action may take some of the heat off the club.

The game is taking a beating off the field with the latest scandal involving Chris Grevsmuhl allegedly ripping off fans only months after Tim Simona did the same.

But plenty of players are doing good things for the fans - with Dragons winger Kalifa Faifai Loa just one example.

Faifai Loa gave away six tickets to the Dragons’ clash with the Titans on Saturday - and made it into a game of finders keepers.

The flamboyant winger left the tickets in an envelope on the gate at Kogarah, posted a pic on twitter and wrote under it:

“Free tickets outside jubilee oval... finders keepers... 6 tickets in it enjoy.”

Faifai Loa told me he tries to give tickets to fans on a regular basis.

“"I always ask for extra tickets from the club when possible," the flying winger said.

"And before every game I stand outside the ticket box and give tickets out. I mainly look for parents with kids.

"But when I was outside on the weekend there was no one in sight so I just thought I'll tape this outside the stadium and tweet it up for anyone to get it.”

(AAP)

Still on Grevsmuhl, and his former Titans teammates are filthy that his alleged actions have smeared the club's good name.

One of Grevsmuhl’s victims told me he was given a jersey by another Titans player - for free - in a gesture of good faith.

The club has also promised to make good all the fans burned by Grevsmuhl alleged deceit- using money from the disgraced player’s contract to get them a refund.

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Kids footy continues to produce some terrible examples of poor sportmanship - from both coaches and parents.

At a gala day at Cardiff in Newcastle last weekend, onlookers were stunned to hear a coach yell to his troops “F##king smash the midgets”… in an under 8s game!

One of his players, keen to please his coach, threw a punch soon afterwards.

The opposition team has complained to the Newcastle junior league about the coach, from a club on the Central Coast, and an investigation is pending.