Oh, the humanity.

The last 24 hours has undoubtedly been the game's best since the Storm Salary Cap Scandal (SSCS) broke. Not only did the news that Australia halfback Thurston was staying leak out during Monday Night Football but in that game, we also got Matty Bowen back at no extra charge!

Then this morning Sydney's Daily Telegraph told us that former Test centre Mark Gasnier is back in the country - unfortunately due to a family illness - and casting around for an NRL club.

The alarmists calling for an immediate hike in wages would have been pretty alarmed themselves. Put Gasnier alongside Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers and the rest and it's a reverse exodus - an influx!

Now the salary cap needs to go up to find room for superstars who wants to come into our competition!

On Sunday, during ABC Grandstand, a completely reasonable point was made that the salary cap was thinning out the talent in the competition. Players were making their debut too early and the standard was suffering. Phil Gould said there were up to 100 players of NRL standard in Super League Europe.

But my question is: does the NRL deserve to have these players? I don't think it does. It could generate enough money to keep them, but if the cost of doing so was to affect the evenness of the competition, then it is too high a price in my opinion. ‘Standard' is in the eye of the beholder. Uneven competitions becomes less attractive to telecasters and sponsors and overall revenue suffers.

Sydney Roosters coach Brian Smith put the situation in perspective on Monday night when he said ""We are a little sport in a little country". It is unreasonable and naive for us to expect to keep everyone in this game and this country - simple as that.

As I've said before, our economy doesn't generate enough money to keep our elite soccer players, baseballers, golfers and basketballers here and the only reason those from other football codes stick around is because they don't play them anywhere else and no-one else wants them!

Where's an AFL player going to go? Gaelic football is amateur. Our best in many professions from science to the arts drift overseas and it is silly to think we can just build a wall around one industry and keep everyone at home.

So regardless of what we do to the salary cap, if our rugby league players find their skills are transferable to European or Japanese rugby union, some of them are still going to go.

What is utterly surprising, logic-defying  and very heartening is that so many still choose to turn down those opportunities.

And that many others - maybe even most of them - chose to return.