Newly appointed Brisbane Broncos football boss Ben Ikin has completed his first task in charge at Red Hill, getting his squad payments under the salary cap.
With the Broncos reportedly well over the cap when he was appointed, the release of both Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai Jr have ensured the club is again cap compliant.
Not only have they fixed their payment structure for this year, but The Courier Mail’s Peter Badel says they’ve been able to manoeuvre payments to ensure they’re set up for next year as well.
“Ben Ikin the new football boss and Dave Donaghy the new CEO who started in May, they’re getting on top of the (salary cap) issue,” Badel said on SEN’s Pat and Heals.
“Before they arrived, Brisbane were over the salary cap this season by about $800,000.
“That doesn’t mean they rorted the salary cap, every club that goes over the cap has time to get under the cap and be compliant and that’s what Brisbane have done in recent months.
“That’s part of the reason why they let go of Matt Lodge, Tevita Pangai Jr – their higher earners – they’ve let them go to free up space in the cap to not only afford players they’ve bought for next year, but also get under the cap and get within the salary cap laws.
“Credit to Ben Ikin and Dave Donaghy because they’ve done that and Brisbane are now cap compliant and they will be next year which is fantastic because they can start rebuilding the program.”
Star duo Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell have already committed to the Broncos for next season, while more inclusions could be on their way before 2022.