It's not the first time Adam Simpson has mentioned it, but it's the first time he's elaborated to the extent of providing examples.
His goal seems pretty clear to me. We are a rich club, and we've lost some special team members due to these soft caps. Those team members provide additional support that make it possible to draft the best possible players, as opposed to the safest (vanilla) players.
Dynamic, exciting, freakish players are the ones that get people talking about the game, they put bums on seats, they sell memberships, they are good for the game.
Simmo is trying to create some conversation and push a little in regards to the soft cap. We're hamstrung in that the poor clubs are fighting to keep the cap as is so the strong clubs can't bounce out of the Covid years and build a dynasty. Unfortunately the journos have latched onto a smidge of his overall point and are running with it because outrage = clicks = income. A well thought out piece about the flow on effects of the soft cap meaning the next Liam Ryan goes undrafted just doesn't generate interest, thus income. Even though it's a story that needs to be discussed. And this is the problem with the media only writing what will sell ads.
