FROM Oliver Twist to Sonny Bill Williams, it's human nature to want more. "More cash, bloody oath," offered Titans prop Luke Bailey said yesterday. He jests. Sort of.

You see, in the NRL, wanting more has its downfalls. The evenness of the competition is largely due to the salary cap, and allowing clubs to try to match it with the big guns by overspending could lead to the death, and certainly the detriment, of many.

So a more careful approach to change is needed, such as the one from Sharks and Australian coach Ricky Stuart, who says: "We certainly need a salary cap, but we've got to find ways to generate more money to raise the cap - in an affordable manner."

Bailey said, more seriously: "For the best players, more money might be great, but blokes who are struggling might find themselves playing in the Queensland Cup."

There are certainly ways to raise salaries, ensuring the top-tier stars remain in what we regard as the top competition - at the same time ensuring that the top competition remains just that.

Former Brisbane, Queensland and Australian forward Gorden Tallis believes the marquee players hold the key to keeping the entire playing group content. He says attempts should be made to lift payments for representative players.

"Certainly, I think the money that gets made out of State of Origin, rep payments have got to go up," Tallis said. For New Zealand representatives, too, he says.

Another option is the introduction of an import player rule, as seen in the A-League. One player is simply off the cap, but still on the map - rather than in the northern hemisphere.

"You can pay them whatever you want," Tallis said. "That means we can keep 16 Sonny Bill Williamses - if the 17th misses out, so be it, but if the game can hold on to 16 Sonny Bill Williamses, the game's going all right."

The controversial and convoluted third-party agreements, surely, should be sent to the best LA plastic surgeon money can buy (but make sure it's cleared by the salary cap auditor) and given a facelift. According to many, TPA should stand for Too Pedantic and Archaic. As one manager said: "It's all about smoke and mirrors. If people want to support a player, so be it, I believe. It just seems like they're always reading something sinister into it."

Bailey also said restraints should be relaxed: "Blokes like Sonny Bill should be able to demand whatever they can from sponsors. And all the promos players do - if they had a thousand bucks a promo, that's a good weekly wage. That may help as well."

The NRL, importantly, is already investigating whether image rights could be garnered, as they are to the good of the player in French rugby union.

Others favour a points system; clubs can spend as much as they like, but cannot creep over a set points limit. Each player - depending on a grading system that would include experience, age and representative status - is worth a specific amount of points.

Complicated it all appears, but there is one clear message: the existing $4.1 million salary ceiling may allow us to keep the clubs afloat, but it won't allow us to keep the game's best talent.

So when they come with even more regularity and ask for more, who should have the cap in hand?

Glenn Jackson