Player transfers is a big topic, particularly with players moving mid year, breaking contracts and looking at expansion. Let's be fair there is never going to be a universally loved idea that everyone is on board. The current structure is November 1 players can negotiate for the following season. Meaning they sign with their new club 12 months out from starting pre-season with them. I feel that is not a good look for the game and for fans. However, it makes sense in the eyes of players and the RLPA. Their argument to themselves would be it benefits them since if a player like Brown signed with Newcastle for 2026 in November 2024, anything that happens in 2025 is all good as he has a contract for 2026. I mean let's be fair we all knock that philosophy until we are in that spot too.
Now August 1st was tried and was a complete disaster. June 30 is the timeline for mid-season signings. Trades have been mentioned as an option, to me it can sort of work but unlike AFL who can trade draft picks as well as players, for NRL we can only do player trades. It can work like we can say we want Payne Haas and we give Brisbane 3-4 quality players. Would never happen but it is an example.
I propose the best way of doing transfers is simply the day after the GF is free agency. There can be a tampering period of around 24-48 hours where clubs can talk to players but not actually offer a deal. Then once that is over they can offer deals and sign. One arguement i heard was players didn't want to move so quickly, so like if a player moves to NZ or from Sydney to Brisbane or vice versa. To that i say BS as if majority of players had the chance to go for a better opportunity, particularly to Brisbane or Melbourne they are taking it regardless. Many would do so within a week for a mid season transfer. Next argument is pre-season training as teams, mostly those who missed semi's, go back early November, it is not enough time to get ready for pre-season. Again, BS as most of the players that are big signings come back mid to late November or even later most times.
Another option i would suggest is making August 1st the time where they can sign for the following year. Argument from clubs and players would be the distraction nearing semi's. Again, no perfect system but one that could work. Or do you go the route of making June 30 the time where you can sign? Gives players that time to set up for 2026, clubs and coaches to be ready to fill their roster for 2026 and is a buffer from semi's. With roughly about 10 weeks from semi's at that point.
One thing i would love to see added on top of transfers are designations and a marquee allowance. Marquee allowance has been mentioned for a long time from fans and i think it has merit. It can be similar to what the NFL have as a Franchise Tag where clubs designate a certain player the tag on a pro-rata salary based on their position and if they were on it before. If you go on it two years in a row the money increases significantly that stops teams from using it on one player all the time. NRL will be different though, sign a player and you can allocate a player each year or for his term. So for example Moses just re-signed, we can say to the NRL we want Moses to be our marquee player until 2029. That $1.3 mil is off the cap entirely. It is fair as every team would have the same designation, granted not every team is going to have a player on that much, but every team has the chance to have a significant amount of salary cap space taken off each season. For teams like St. George Illawarra it might be harder at the moment as they may not have that one player they know in say 3 years time will still be there, unlike us where it is obvious Moses is the one and is signed til 2029. This adds strategy for teams. Yes it makes it harder in the market to buy players but it also encourages from building from within as you can sign more rookies with the extra space.
If not marquee, or if it can be added, maybe a long serving player allowance. Of course there has to be a strict criteria. Could be a player with over 200 games for that club or played 7-8 years with the club. In this case maybe it is not the full amount taken off instead maybe a percentage of like 50%. It rewards loyalty, players and clubs. Majority of these players that qualify would have been juniors of the club. Makes fans happy even more and promotes the key to developing your own talent in order to save money and have quality players.
As for other designations, you could also take a note from the NFL and out designations on certain players for clubs. Like for example players like Charlie Guymer could come off contract but have some sort of tag where he is restricted to us first and we can sign him or say we dont want him and he can then move on. After a certain amount of years he then becomes a free agent once deal is done. Though that might be a bit illogical for NRL standards, instead maybe a tag involving a policy that players like say Guymer in first 3 years of NRL can talk to other clubs but deal cannot be signed until we make a formal offer or have a chance to counter an offer from another club. I know that happens in the game but it could be a rule.
Again, a lot of this wont even come close to happening and taken a lot of influence from NFL. Though changes need to be made to current transfer systems.
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Regarding the marquee allowance, wouldn't that lead to teams making rediculous/astronomical offers to marquee players because it won't be in the cap? I like the idea you mentioned with Charlie Guymer as an example. There should be some sort of safe guard in place to prevent rival teams from poaching talented young players from the pathways of other teams.
Fix the cap. Bring in max contracts so the best players can't chase money elsewhere.
I'd like to see:
Signings can only occur after the grandfinal for the next season. No more "year out signings".
Remove the salary cap - survival of the fittest. or Actually police the cap by making it all public.
Id rather see a draft system, where the club that runs last gets the first pick etc. Love that movie with Kevin Costner "Draft Day".
If the salary cap is to remain then i'd like to see a total dispensation on the cap for a local junior that comes through the grades to first grade and remains at the club. "influences all clubs to be better produces of local talent and limits what other clubs can spend when trying to pinch your hard work that has gone into teaching a local junior all the way to grade.
Better than removing the cap, just remove the NRL funding to each club. If you can not raise the cap from league club/tickets/membership then you are running at a loss. With the NRL no longer funding the clubs, the left over cash is then funded into grassroots, development and proper support of the up and coming juniors, referees and proper administration of the game.
Good point
"Id rather see a draft system, where the club that runs last gets the first pick etc."...I'd like that too.
I was all for a draft years ago. But it is a logistical nightmare. A draft can work but the RLPA will not let it work. There will be constant "He doesn't want to play there. Imagine having a young 18 year old prodigy being drafted and forced to play in PNG when all other top clubs in either Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane wanting him?
Plus for a draft to work the NRL would need to have a heavy impact on junior clubs and schools to produce the talent with limited affiliation. Like Parramatta have players from Patrician Brothers Blacktown, in a draft they shouldn't have any players there as they have to be drafted. Will the NRL want to spend the money to prop up these schools and control the grass roots?
A draft would add in a trade system as you can trade draft picks. If allowed i would be curious to a draft. A combine and the media and primetime show of it. I love watching the NFL draft.
I would suggest that everyone wanting to be a future nrl player would know that there is a draft in play and make the decision to be an NRL player with these factsin play. How and why do drafts work in so many differing leagues throughout the world even the AFL in Australia have a draft. Why is the NRL so different in this regard. Honest question, i just don't know why it can occur in so many other leagues but in the NRL it's a massive problem.
Well in the AFL it doesn't really work as most of the time players trade back to where they want to. Systems are already in place with schools affiliated with clubs.
Paul Kent said it right, if you have a player drafted by a team they don't want to go to that's the end of the Draft.
Players would know there is a draft, but doesn't mean they can't say I don't want to go there. RLPA will be on them like white on rice demanding the player not go where they are drafted.
For a draft to be put in the RLPA would have to agree to it, they won't they want players to have as much control on their careers as possible.
Even though the salary cap is not completely doing what is should, with the likes of Penrith, Sydney and Melbourne winning the last 8 premierships. But look at 2014-16. Three teams winning comps for either the first time or breaking the drought. All teams have at least close to a level playing field. Survival of the fittest means clubs will die.
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