Cronulla captain Trent Barrett says his experience playing with battlers Illawarra and the Sharks has made him a staunch supporter of the NRL salary cap.

Barrett began his career at the Steelers, where he played from 1996 until the club was forced to merge with St George in 1999, and last year, returned from England to link with the Sharks, whose budget cuts have meant they don't spend the full amount of the cap.

"I think that's been David Gallop's biggest argument all along - you need a cap to ensure that there is more than four or five teams in the competition," Barrett said on Wednesday.

"I think the salary cap's there for a reason, it's to give us an even playing field and to ensure survival of some clubs who maybe can't spend as much as others, so I think it's doing a good job.

"At the moment, I think (Gallop's) job is very hard, you're never going to please everyone, but he's doing a good job and he's in a position where he has to make some hard decisions and he's doing that."

Barrett also backed the NRL's decision to strip Melbourne of two premierships, three minor premierships and this year's competition points.

"Obviously, if you were playing there, you'd be disappointed but the rules are in place and we all have to abide by them," he said.

"It's not an easy one, I think if he had have gone another way, there would have been a lot of people saying he's done the wrong thing there."

But Barrett said he wasn't angry about the Sharks losing 14-10 to the Storm, a side $700,000 over the cap, in round one.

"Not really. We played pretty well that night and you play what's in front of you," he said.

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