For nearly a century, Rugby League has been played in Australia -- and rightly so. It has been called the greatest game of all. And who could argue? After all, RL has it all -- skill, courage, flair, strength and raw aggression. It’s a sport where a cool head and the willingness to belt an opponent are required in equal measures. Add to this the accessibility of the game. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, tall or short, fast or slow, big or small; there is always a position in the team, a job for you to do and the only condition is that you have to stand tall and do the job with courage.

There is no better evidence of this than the image known as the Gladiators. You have the towering figure of Norm Provan, captain of the all-conquering St George teams of the 1960s, embracing the squat figure of Arthur Summons, captain of the ‘battlers’ from Western Suburbs, following a Grand Final on a Sydney Cricket Ground mudbath. The picture sums up everything that is great about the game -- two men so obviously different in stature coming together in a display of absolute mutual respect after 80 minutes of brutal combat.

The lifestyle those men enjoyed back then is a far cry from what we see today. The Rugby League gods we worshipped back then also worked in a full-time job and any financial benefit they drew from the game was just a bonus. Today’s game is now a professional one, played in the most part by well-paid professional athletes. However, I’m the first to say that these men deserve every cent they earn - with the money has come greater responsibility and scrutiny of their private lives and, like it or not, they are now role models to the millions who look up to them.

Take Darren Lockyer, for example -- he has played close to 40 games of Rugby League this season as captain of Brisbane, Queensland and Australia. We can add to that the training that he would have begun around two months before the campaign began and, last but by no means least, there is also the media and promotional commitments. A busy schedule by anyone’s standards and as such no one could begrudge him a cent of the money he receives.

What problems could the game be facing? With record crowds and some of the most entertaining football ever seen being played its hard to imagine what could possibly be causing a problem. It’s in the play dealings that I am starting to see cause for concern.

This year we have seen the removal of the anti-tampering deadline allowing players to sign contracts at any time, possibly allowing for contracts to be signed years in advance. Added to this we have the Steve Turner saga being played out between the Gold Coast Titans, whom Turner signed for via his manager, and the Melbourne Storm, whom he decided he wanted to stay with and then negotiated a contract with them.

Now I am by no means an expert on the situation and therefore am not going to pass judgment on a player who may have simply made a naïve mistake, or whose personal situation may have changed, making it unworkable for him to move to the coast. However, it sets a number of dangerous precedents for the future.

The second issue I have is with the salary cap. Now I understand that the cap is crucial for the even spread of player talent around the clubs; however, I feel it is far too inflexible. The most obvious case I see of this is Matthew Johns. Here we have a player who began his Rugby League life as a small boy playing in the junior competitions around the Newcastle area and who worked his way through the ranks to finally play, and win a premiership, with his beloved hometown team. He was then forced out of a club because they couldn’t fit him under the cap. Personally I was almost physically ill; how can we have in place a rule that prevents someone from playing for the club he grew up supporting and that developed and nurtured his talent all the way through from a young age? How can a game born out of the deeds of local heroes force a local icon to leave the town and team he loves to ply not only his trade but his passion?

So what are the answers -- how can we turn this around? Well, personally I feel the biggest problem is greed. Even in the super league years, money was only the method of warfare. The real prize that was sought was power -- the power to control the game -- and it was greed that drove this grab for power.

So how do we stop our game from shooting itself in the foot? The first option I would like to see is a point system rather than salary cap. This would simplify the situation and make it harder for teams to rort the salary cap, such as the case with the Bulldogs a couple of years ago. It would also allow players and clubs to be rewarded for loyalty and developing talent. So you could have players rated from one to ten depending on years in the NRL, State of Origin and international appearances. Then you could have discounts such as 25 per cent for local talent and between 50 and 100 per cent for length of time at a club between five and ten years. Obviously this is simplistic and would need more detail put into it.

Another option I feel could be implemented would be an AFL style 'trade week' in which clubs would have up to two weeks to negotiate and sign off contract players - of course clubs could re-sign current players at any time. This would prevent players, or more importantly player agents, driving up player prices by dragging out negotiations. If done in October this would give players up to a month to relocate to new teams with concessions given where an interstate relocation was necessary.

So there are my ideas on what we can do to improve and protect this game that is so loved by many. They are simple I know, but so is the game - you and 12 mates have to get a ball past 13 other guys and over a line. Simple, hey?

What is the way forward for Rugby League? Let us have your thoughts and comments.