Catalans Dragons salary cap and quota spot update after latest headline signing

Catalans’ recent glut of signings has continued, with the Dragons confirming the immediate arrival of Ben Lam from rugby union outfit Montpellier.

33-year-old Lam makes the move across the south of France to the Stade Gilbert Brutus, penning a deal which runs until the end of the 2024 season.

Born in Auckland, the outside-back represented the Kiwis in 7s format, winning a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

He also represented his heritage in last year’s World Cup, donning a shirt for Samoa, and was notably sent off against Japan.

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Catalans Dragons salary cap update after latest headline signing

Lam joins Jarrod Wallace and Reimis Smith as a new Dragons recruit, with those two both having made immediate moves over from the NRL in the last few weeks – Wallace from the Dolphins and Smith from Melbourne Storm.

Numerous ‘big name’ signings from Down Under have already been confirmed ahead of 2025, too, leading to questions over both the Dragons’ salary cap and quota spot situation.

This is Lam’s first foray into the world of rugby league, and where the salary cap is concerned, he doesn’t count towards it.

That’s because the veteran has come from a rugby union club in the shape of Montpellier as opposed to his last employers being a league club.

The Dragons have utilised that bit of information to bring him in, but notably, are already full on quota spots.

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Catalans’ quota spots situation

Their seven spots are filled by Manu Ma’u, Chris Satae, Matt Ikuvalu, Tariq Sims, Bayley Sironen, Jarrod Wallace and Reimis Smith at present.

It would appear though that the club may not have to worry about slotting him into that seven just yet, because he may well get to the end of his current contract without needing to make a first-team appearance.

In Catalans’ press release confirming Lam’s arrival, Sporting Director Neil McIlroy revealed : “He (Lam) has turned down opportunities in rugby union in France to undertake a trial period with us until Christmas.

“After that, we will decide whether the transition has been successful or not.

“He will train with the Dragons and have the chance to get game time with our reserve team St Estève XIII Catalan.

“It will be interesting to see if his power and experience in rugby union can adapt to rugby league.”

It would appear that Lam will have to prove his worth as a league player to Steve McNamara and his coaching side by firstly playing at reserve grade for the club and then spending pre-season with them ahead of 2025.

If a contract does come Lam’s way beyond that, then – as far as we’re aware – there will have to be some re-jigging where the club’s quota spots are concerned.

However, come 2025, he will have lived in France for five years having first moved to the country as he joined rugby union outfit Union Bordeaux Begles back in 2020.

We’re sure the Dragons will explore every option possible to try and get him in on the ‘residency’ rule if they wish to keep him.

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