Mudgee Dragons president Cameron McCall has joined a growing chorus for making the Peter McDonald Premiership's Player Points Index System public.
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The Dragons have been in the firing line of rival fans this season as their 2024 team features four ex-NRL players.
McCall has clarified the situation, proving his team is well under the points cap, while adding every club's points should be clear to see to stop the type of accusations thrown at Mudgee in recent weeks.
"We've said all along that they should be public. It just eliminates any rumours," McCall said.
"Obviously when you do your match sheet the opposite side can have a look at your points because it's on there, but for the general public and people that just come to watch the games, it would be good for them to see where everyone sites.
"It's like the NRL with the salary cap. Nearly everyone knows what everyone's getting paid, so why not? Why not make it public?
"No-one can really have anything to hide because the way the system works, it won't let you enter your team into the system (online) if you've gone over the points."
Plenty of points to spare
Every Peter McDonald Premiership club gets 100 points to play with at the start of the season. They are then eligible to use a certain percentage of the 100 points based on where they finished the previous season as a means of equalisation.
For example, Orange CYMS can use 100 points this season after collecting the wooden spoon last year while defending premiers Dubbo CYMS can only use 80.
The Player Points Index System (PPIS) assigns values to players, with local juniors worth zero. Someone who has played five or more NRL games is worth 25 points, while it's 30 if they played more than 25 top-flight games.
The value decreases each season a player spends with the same club, with it dropping to zero in the fifth year.
At Mudgee in 2024, former Wests Tigers and Manly playmaker Jack Littlejohn is now worth zero points while player-coach Clay Priest is worth 10 as he is in his fourth season in red and white.
Off-season signings Zac Saddler and Anthony Cherrington, who also previously played in the NRL, are worth 12 and five points respectively.
Former Indigenous All Star Saddler only played four NRL games while Cherrington, who played for the Roosters and South Sydney, is only worth five points having not played any NRL or NSW Cup in the past five years.
With the bulk of the rest of the Dragons squad being local juniors, Mudgee is a long way clear of its points cap.
"Not that we're going to, but we could probably fit a couple more (former NRL players) in," McCall said.
"I try to turn a blind eye to it all but there's talk of having four ex-NRL players and 'they're cheating the cap' and all this stuff. It bugs me and I get annoyed that it sort of criticises a bloke for playing in the NRL."
Big names, big benefits
McCall is also all too aware many within the PMP community have accused Mudgee of spending big money to bring these players in.
While there are financial benefits, the president made it clear his club had done little chasing to make any of the four major signings happen.
"With Anthony Cherrington, he used to come out here a fair bit when he first started in the NRL because he played with a few boys from Mudgee in the under 20s system," McCall said.
"Timmy Condon (Mudgee reserve grade captain-coach) was one of those and he (Cherrington) reached out to Timmy and said he'd be pretty keen to have one last run out in the bush."
Mutual friends of the Dragons and Littlejohn helped get the playmaker to the club ahead of the 2019 Group 10 season and he, in turn, attracted Priest to Mudgee.
Saddler arrived after getting in touch with Priest, someone he'd played against regularly in the Koori Knockout.
"Money is obviously a problem but it's been a problem in bush footy for years. It's not something new," McCall said.
"But at the same time, these players aren't waking up on a Monday morning and doing a recovery session. They're going to work so they want to be compensated, and that's fair enough.
"Every team is doing it, it's just how you manage it. You don't go breaking the bank.
"People assume this bloke or that bloke is on a heap of money, but lifestyle and employment comes into it. Footy clubs can't just afford to keep forking out money every year."
That investment bears fruit both on and off the field as the presence of players with NRL experience creates real excitement within country communities.
"They boost interest from the local players and make them want to play football," McCall said.
"Their ability is just an added bonus."
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
