Twitter Talk: Fans have their say on the dispensation rule

Drew Darbyshire

Photo courtesy of Richard Long

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: