“Give Taumalolo the Golden Boot right now,” he said. “What he has done, he got the Dally M Medal 12 months ago but he was better this year, and then he shifts to Tonga, a tier-two team and he’s on the brink of taking them to a World Cup final. "I’m not so sure, as much as Todd Payten is a coach on the rise, that he is going to be given the opportunity to improve a lot in life for this Cowboys roster. While everyone in the game has reaped the benefits of this, it appears the players are the biggest winners. Notify of “I’ve got no doubt Tonga can win the yardage battle — they’ve got some brilliant players and they can really whack,” Johns said. "They’ve had a couple of kids come in now that look very promising, and hopefully they can hold on to them. Click on the image below for an in-depth look at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup fixtures and results! That’s going to be the biggest thing.

Todd Payten will take over as head coach next year in a positive step for the club - but according to Gould, it might not make much difference. This has made the NRL one of the most popular leagues to bet on, with many media outlets providing tips and offers, for example when Betfred are giving away free bets, so you know where to put your money.
Johns said he gave Tonga a slight edge over England in the semi-final to be played in Auckland on Saturday, saying a parochial crowd and Taumalolo’s influence could lead to another big upset.

While this has added greatly to their fortune, we are going to focus on the players that currently have the highest-paying yearly contracts from their club. The betting industry has played a key role in that, with leading brands across the world helping to promote the competition. Salary per annum – $1 million . It has become the norm for the top stars in the NRL to be given contracts that run into seven-figure territory, something that didn’t seem possible only a decade ago. A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. With the salary cap increased to $9.4 million for 2018 and soon to go up to $10 million, there’s absolutely no doubt the star forward could command a salary closer to $1.5 million-per-season if he went back on the open market. Australia might not be the birthplace of Rugby League, but it is certainly the financial capital with huge money flying around the sport down under. Johns has been blown away by his continued excellence.

Salary per annum – $1 million .

Contract expiration year – 2022.

Shaun Johnson. Team – Cronulla Sharks. Subscribe. Although the Cowboys don’t have much room in the salary cap, the influence of Taumalolo could be enough for the club to open up and make a push for Fonua-Blake, according to The Daily Telegraph.

"I can’t possibly see where they are going to improve it to an extent where they are going to be a top eight contender next year. “My thought is no (they won't improve).

The game’s rise over the last 10 years is a result of superb marketing, with the NRL attracting huge sponsorships and TV deals both at home and overseas. As the game becomes more popular, and in turn richer, so do the players who themselves have attracted huge sponsorship deals. Since making the grand final in 2017, the Cowboys have continued to go backwards and have struggled once again during the COVID season of the NRL. There are no green shoots, there is nothing new or vibrant about this side. Watch every NRL premiership game live in 2018 on Fox Sports. This is also known as Online Behavioural Advertising.

This bloke’s just leading the way in brute force.”. If that happens early in the whopping deal, the Cowboys may still come off second best but for now it looks to be a very tidy bit of business for the club. Wade Graham ($750,000) 43.

Angus Crichton ($750,000) 39. “At the moment Taumalolo’s got the dud deal, it should have been $20 million over 10 years, and even that might have been a little cheap,” Johns said on Triple M’s The Grill Team, with a hint of tongue planted in cheek. “But it’s going to be about the ability of the Tongan halves to control things and to come out with the right plays at the right time against England. With such a large portion of their salary cap attributed to Morgan, Holmes and Jason Taumalolo, it makes things very difficult to build a balanced roster. ", https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/66/60/gus-payten-split_1jm6pqshc1fhs1im3v2kbfonua.jpeg?t=-1161559068&w=500&quality=80, They parted ways with premiership-winning coach Paul Green, Sharks breakout star reveals Test allegiance battle. With the defection of stars back to Tonga, such as Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita, his side were a chalked-off try away from stunning England at the last World Cup in Australia.

Sign up here to stream for free on a two week trial >. Jason Taumalolo has been immense for Tonga.

I’m struggling to see how they improve too much next season.".

Because of this, they are attracting all the best talent both domestically and from overseas, with each NRL club given a whopping $9.8 million base salary cap for the 2020 season.

Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. The 2016 Dally M Medallist earlier this year signed a contract that is likely to take him right to the end of his career, with his one-million dollar-a-season deal expiring at the end of the 2027 season, when he will be 35. "The Cowboys had such a good development system going up there with some talents, but they tend to lose the talents before they can come through and benefit their first grade side," he said.

After seeing the powerful back-rower brutalise NRL forward packs on the way to this year’s grand final, then spearhead Tonga’s charge into the last four at the RLWC, Johns says the verdict is already in. Jake Trbojevic ($800,000) 31. Sign up here to stream for free on a two week trial >, Tonga’s narrow quarter final win over Lebanon, Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. After averaging an NRL leading 194 run metres per game this season, Taumalolo has kept his game at an incredibly high level for Tonga, leading the nation to its most famous victory ever in the group stages as they disposed of New Zealand, the country he defected from on the eve of the tournament. "But they haven’t got the halves, and they haven’t got the football at the moment to win enough games to make the top eight.

The club finished 15th and would have received the wooden spoon if not for the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal. The top stars in the NRL are celebrated in Australia like other celebrities, with an exceptional ability on the pitch often coinciding with fame and a huge salary off it. With such a large portion of their salary cap attributed to Morgan, Holmes and Jason Taumalolo, it makes things very difficult to build a balanced roster.

Johns said he had long suspected there would be a big winner in Taumalolo’s 10-year contract extension with the Cowboys, either the player or the club. Star North Queensland forward Jason Taumalolo could very well hold the key to luring Manly prop Addin Fonua-Blake to the Cowboys. 9. This has resulted in a number of high profile players taking home some serious cheques every month, with the NRL’s transfer merry-go-round in full swing as we speak.

He backed it up with another monster performance in Tonga’s narrow quarter final win over Lebanon and now looms as the biggest obstacle standing between Wayne Bennett’s England and a World Cup final. Along with Tuivasa-Sheck, Kieran Foran and Jason Taumalolo are the other New Zealand players to be named in the list. 9. Just on emotion I’m going to lean towards Tonga but I think it’s my heart saying it.”. Jason Taumalolo.

Team – North Queensland Cowboys. But why are things so dire at a club that made two grand finals in three seasons midway through the last decade? Jason Taumalolo ($1 million) 29. Gould believes that poor retention of juniors over time has come back to bite them. Boyd Cordner ($780,000) 38. MORE: Sharks breakout star reveals Test allegiance battle. 10. Jason Taumalolo soaks up a Tonga victory. MATTHEW Johns has lauded Jason Taumalolo’s impact on the World Cup, saying he should be given the Golden Boot award “now”, while calling into question his $10 million deal at the Cowboys. Salary per annum – $950,000. "They look very old and very tired, and I was not surprised that they went through a coaching dilemma midway through the season. “I reckon this is going to be really tough. They lost their first game up there to what proved to be a pretty ordinary Broncos team," he said on Six Tackles With Gus.

After rising by just over $750k from 1998 to 2010, the NRL’s cap has jumped an astonishing $5.8m since and will rise to $10m by 2022.

WARRIORS officials will embark on a secret trip to Townsville on Wednesday armed with a $2 million contract to make Cowboys hulk Jason Taumalolo the highest-paid forward in the NRL. "I said at the time, this team will struggle all season. It's been a very tough year for the North Queensland Cowboys, who will finish in the bottom four for the third consecutive season. I think the placings in the bottom eight might change, but as to how many of these are capable of forcing their way into the top eight remains to be seen," he said. North Queensland have won just four games all season - only one against a top-eight side - and don't look to be a side on the rise next season. Contract expiration year – 2027. Josh Jackson ($700,000) 45. “I’ve never seen a bloke who was not a playmaker have such an impact on a football team.

MORE: Round 20 NRL team lists.

"They are a ranked fail this year, but we predicted that from game one.". According to rugby league expert Phil Gould, this season was over the Cowboys after their loss to the Broncos in the opening round at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

They parted ways with premiership-winning coach Paul Green midway through the year, while injuries to the likes of Valentine Holmes and Michael Morgan certainly haven't helped their cause.

"It’s a real concern. Mind you, there are some teams around them that could falter. Jason Taumalolo became the Cowboys youngest ever debutant, making his debut against the Canterbury Bulldogs in round 24 aged 17 years and 82 days. "The Broncos beat them up there at the opening of their brand new stadium. However the great unknown is how long he can keep up his superhuman form, with the 24-year-old yet to suffer a serious injury with the potential to limit him physically. 2010 saw the emergence of Scott Bolton and seeing the test debut of Matthew Scott.
The list below, reveals the 10 highest paid NRL players in 2020, based on information from experts at Zero Tackle and Fox Sports.

The biggest issue for the Cowboys is that a large portion of their salary cap is going to a small number of players.