Twitter Talk: Fans have their say on the dispensation rule

Following Castleford being granted dispensation on Luke Gale, fans have had mixed views on the rule.

It was announced just over a week ago that Luke Gale would miss most – if not all – of the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in training.

As a result, the Rugby Football League allowed Castleford dispensation to exclude Gale from this year’s salary cap, so they could bring in a replacement.

The Tigers have signed utility-back Jordan Rankin from Huddersfield Giants, with Joe Wardle going the other way.

However, the swap deal was under the existing cap, meaning Castleford can still use the exemption.

At the time of writing, Castleford are expected to start with Rankin and Jake Trueman in the halves for the 2019 season. Ben Roberts, Jamie Ellis and Cory Aston will be back-up options.

If Gale makes a quicker-than-expected recovery, Castleford will need permission from the RFL to play him this year.

The dispensation rule is nothing new in Super League though. In 2016, Warrington Wolves forward Ben Harrison was initially ruled out for the entire season with a shoulder re-construction.

However, he recovered earlier than expected but the Wolves were denied to play him and he joined Wakefield Trinity on loan on the back of that.

Should Super League clubs be allowed to gain dispensation? Here is how you reacted on Twitter:

No they shouldn’t. That’s what squads are for!!

— OutdoorWarrior1 (@OutdoorWarrior1) January 15, 2019

No (Cas fan)

— Jakeb (@jakeybeau262) January 15, 2019

No as others said Squads. They are getting as bad as Leeds

— Carl Flitton (@Riffter1) January 15, 2019

dispensation should be allowed.

— ☢Sebastiaan☢ (@Slayer__33) January 15, 2019

I think it’s fine if the player is out for the whole season and they can’t be played even if they recover earlier than expected

— Stephen Redhead (@Ste_Redhead) January 15, 2019

I'd get the outrage if other clubs had been denied it in the past, or if they did this half way into the year. But if a player gets injured in preseason and you know they won't feature at all that year, then why not?

— Mark (@wilko2205) January 15, 2019

Yes, as Second grade rugby is going down we need some way to keep as many players within the pro system.

— Ian Davidson (@ShakerMaker123) January 15, 2019

No. Everybody knows there squads before season starts.

— JOHN PAWSEY (@JOHNPAWSEY) January 15, 2019

All the Super League clubs agreed to it, and no one moaned about it when the “big” clubs used it. So yes

— Craig burbridge (@Craigburbridge1) January 16, 2019

My opinion – If he has a season long injury – They can have dispensation, as long as he is de-registered for the whole season.
Be unfair if he came back and led them to playoffs etc.

— James Evans (@JXVIII) January 16, 2019