SALFORD head coach Paul Rowley could not say whether their £1.2m sustainability cap would be lifted ahead of their next game, after their heavy defeat to St Helens.
The Red Devils had been preparing for restrictions to be lifted, after announcing the club had been sold on February 7, but were rocked when told they would remain, with the RFL yet to approve the takeover.
Asked if he was confident cap restrictions would be lifted before the match against Leeds on Saturday, Rowley said, “No. I don’t know the answer.
“There’s a lot of detail and complexities which I’m not privy to… we got to the finish line, but lo and behold the finish line got moved.
“We have a rulebook at the RFL which, I think, sometimes can be a little rigid. You can be rigid or make things happen for the good of the game, and we’ve gone down the rigid route in my opinion.”
After the 82-0 St Helens victory – the biggest winning margin in Super League history – Rowley was pressed on his squad selection.
“I had no idea, last week, that you could only pick from the same group of players which played last week,” he said.
“I want to know if it is a punishment or a protective measure for our club. I’m not sure what I’m meant to do, I can’t put half a team out with half from the reserves and introduce them all on the bus.
“It didn’t strike me as the right thing to do for my players. They don’t deserve that, not this week.”
Victorious coach Paul Wellens paid tribute to his players, following their big win in the opening round: “I want to pay a huge credit to our team because we went about our business in a professional manner.”