As has long been discussed in rugby league circles, certain clubs such as Parramatta, Penrith, Brisbane and even the Dragons, are often seen as development clubs. Brisbane are at an advantage as they are a one team town and any club wishing to poach a junior has to try and talk them into leaving home.
For clubs such as Parramatta and Penrith, their junior ranks are open to be pilfered by other Sydney clubs, more intent or grabbing the next superstar at the age of 17 or 18, when much of the development work has been done.
Should NRL clubs therefore be expected to develop junior players if their junior playing ranks can be so openly pilfered?
The argument for developing juniors is that you have the chance to stumble upon a generational talent that would cost a huge amount on the open market, but costs you virtually nothing and puts you in the box seat to retain them.
The argument against junior development can be seen in the case of Kalyn Ponga and North Queensland. Or, closer to home, Utoikamanu and the Tigers.
There are three ways the NRL could approach this.
The first is to keep things as is. There are more pressing problems at the moment in the game and you'd assume a handful of "development" clubs annoyed at the odd junior getting poached is a fair way down the pecking order compared to expansion and contract negotiations.
The second is to keep the system the same but introduce a transfer fee. That way the junior development club isn't left out of pocket when it comes to developing players who are poached. It also acts as an incentive for clubs to keep developing players.
The third is to abolish the junior system as it is, redraw the lines and have the NRL oversee all junior development with a more organised and better structured junior competition. Those players then go into a draft.
Now I don't think the NRL is even entertaining the third option. It will require years of work and will no doubt meet some resistance from the players union. The second option, for mine, is the most likely and level-headed scenario.
It is easy to implement and allows for clubs like Parramatta to get something back for the talent they produce. It's physically impossible for us to retain all the players we develop, the least the club should get is some monetary return when those players inevitably are signed elsewhere.
Now to add to this, we could also see the introduction of a loan system as has just occurred between Melbourne and the Tigers. The Storm have loaned the Tigers Harry Grant and in return the joint venture has loaned Melbourne Paul Momirovski. Both players remained signed to their parent club with that club also paying their wages.
This is the same system used in football around the world and works a treat. Players in need of top level experience get it, clubs that need players in a pinch but don't want to jump through salary cap hoops can recruit. I believe the players also can't play against their parent club (that's how it works in football anyway).
This type of loan system can also benefit players wanting to fight for a first grade spot but being unable to play first grade. It's also a great way to help develop players without either taking the risk of playing them in the NRL too early, or selling them and then watching them turn into top quality players.
Replies
Well for starters HoE, under a rookie draft the vast majority of draftees would be young players. There wouldn't be very many with kids, some perhaps, but very few. We aren't talking about veteran players here.
Again no one would be forcing them to do anything, they would be free to pursue another career, but playing in the NRL for big money contracts is a privilege and I don't it is too much to ask young players to have to do an apprenticeship as it were for a few years before you can choose where you want to play. If you were to go into the defence force you would have to go where you were sent.
How is that different to the real world though Snake? I'd like to live where I grew up, but the reality is with my skillset, I could not stay where I grew up and had to move to get work.
Many people have to relocate to where work is. It's a part of life. If a person decides that they want to pursue a path in League, they should be prepared to move to where the work is. Players do it now chasing the $$.
Exactly, and it’s not like they are “stuck” in a place where they don’t want to be. Eventually they would be free agents and can play where they want to.
Works in the AFL Brett. And they have a great setup where players who are drafted to particular clubs (usually interstate ones) want to go 'home' after their initial contract period is up (or even at the back end of their careers), players can go into a trade period either as free agents and negotiate their own terms with their preferred club, or if they are looking to break a contract, the club losing the player gets compensated, mostly by way of future draft picks being traded.
I'm not a fan of the AFL's trade system whereby players can dictate which clubs they go to. We had the example up here with the Gold Coast Suns with Jaegar O'Meara who spent most of his time up here injured and then with a year remaining on his contract requested a trade to Hawthorn and no one else. He basically held a gun to the Suns head, they had to do a deal with the Hawks only, which oofourse gave the Hawks all the leverage. If they couldn't get a deal done then O'Meara would've just played out his contract and signed with the Hawks as a free agent anyway and the Suns would've got a compensation pick only.
For a player trading system to work, players can't have that kind of leverage.
They are suck in a place they dont want to be for as long as they have a contract.
Yes Brett we are aware they are not stuck for life.
Theres plenty of local jobs for tradies or anybody who wants them.
Not everybody is forced to move out of Sydney or where ever they are and make a life somewhere else, its simply not true.
Some are forced to move and im sure they countered that in when choosing that in.
Nobody in my familiy has been forced to move for a careeer, Advertising, plumbing, horticulture and landscaping, nobody had to go anywhere, and none of us wanted to.
As you just said, those kinds of jobs are in abundance. There are only 576 jobs for professional rugby league players at the elite level, and only 324 of them are in Sydney. If you want one then you should have to go where the jobs are.
The NRL is a business, and the strength of that business is the competitive parity of its teams. The league is only as strong as its weakest club. When you compare the AFL & the NRL, you have to compare the two Gold Coast clubs. Despite their on field struggles, thanks to the AFL's long term backing, the Suns are in a far stronger place than the Titans. As a result the AFL are in a far stronger position than the NRL, and their player draft is a large part of why that is. AFL teams don't stay down for too long ordinarily.
The league has the right to optimise its assets in any way it sees fit to ensure competitive parity.
Over the last 25 years how many eels juniors have been lost to club that were poached verses they were willingly let go by the club that went on to be a success at other clubs?
Nope never been an incentive to produce jnrs, look at the top teams the last decade no jnrs.
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