NRL may bring in a draft

[DIEHARD]

South Sydney boss Shane Richardson backs fast tracking rookie draft

IN years gone by, the mere mention of an NRL draft has been howled down as a dirty word in rugby league.
Ever since Terry Hill successfully had it thrown out as a restraint of trade in the High Court in 1991, NRL power brokers have been too frightened to revisit the concept.
Until now.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal introducing a rookie draft is firmly on the NRL’s agenda for the 2017 season, the same year as the next TV broadcasting deal will be brokered.

The concept was initially raised at a salary cap review earlier this year, with the NRL since further investigating a number of different draft structures including rival code AFL.

NRL boss Dave Smith is a huge supporter of the rookie draft concept, which is designed to spread the best young talent in the game across all 16 clubs and work in conjunction with the salary cap.

South Sydney chief executive Shane Richardson has welcomed the rookie draft discussion, urging the NRL to fast-track it and make it a major event for the start of the 2016 season.

“I’d like to see it brought in as soon as possible, I don’t see why it can’t be brought in for 2016,” Richardson said.
“It would be good for the game. The argument against it has always been would Joey Johns have played in Newcastle if we had a draft.

“I always answer with the same point. Brett Kimmorley played for Melbourne because Joey Johns was playing for the Knights and they were both Newcastle juniors.

“Firstly, it’s been proven elsewhere in so many different competitions whether it be in the NFL in the US or the AFL closer to home.

“Secondly, it enables kids to stay in the areas they’ve grown up in instead of bringing them down at ridiculously young ages and then burning them out.

“Thirdly, the amount of money we waste by pouring money into young players under the age of 18.

“I estimate we set fire to between $4 million and $6 million a year. The only people who really win out of that are the player managers, who get six per cent of it.

“It’s an opportunity for the NRL to have a centrally-funded and controlled development program which benefits everybody across the board

“It’s a win-win for everybody and I think it’s the only way forward.”

One of the current NRL proposals contains a clause about strong development clubs such as Penrith, North Queensland, New Zealand, South Sydney and Canberra being allowed to cherrypick a select number of young guns, who would be exempt from the draft.

But under this model, clubs such as premiers Sydney Roosters would be severely disadvantaged.

Manly coach Geoff Toovey agreed with the concept of a rookie draft in principle but warned “the devil will be in the detail from the NRL”.

“It’s something that no doubt needs a lot of thought put into it but it is certainly a viable proposal going forward,” Toovey said.

St George Illawarra and Canberra both supported the concept, with the Sydney Roosters one of a number of clubs to push the NRL for more information.

“For a club like ours that spends a lot of money and a lot of energy in developing players we need to be very careful on how a draft system might operate,” Dragons CEO Peter Doust said.

“We already have a commitment to develop players on behalf of the overall game. In 2013, St George Illawarra produced 70-odd players that were playing the game at other clubs.

“They came through our system. In saying that I do understand it gives teams at the bottom a chance to refresh their rosters.

“So I’m happy to consider the principle of introduction if the devil in the detail is explained as well.”

http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/

[DIEHARD]

Parramatta Eels and Newcastle Knights wary of NRL draft that doesn’t reward junior development

The Daily Telegraph

PARRAMATTA CEO Scott Seward said the Eels will be among several NRL clubs wary of a rookie draft.

“We are a development club ... developing juniors is what our success is based on,” he said.

As revealed in The Sunday Telegraph , NRL officials have spent the past six months exploring various forms of a draft which, considered for implementation in 2017, would aim at spreading the code’s best young talent across all 16 sides.

But clubs with the strongest development systems — like the Eels, Penrith and Newcastle — will ask why they should continue spending in excess of $1 million every year on players who they no longer have first crack at signing.

Of the Knights team that won the 2001 premiership, for example, roughly a dozen came through the local system. Back in 1997, the figure was higher again, with even ‘‘outsiders’’ like Queensland Origin fullback Robbie O’Davis having played SG Ball with the club.

It is a blueprint the club is now working to repeat.

Parramatta, too, are pushing for the NRL playoffs thanks largely to a posse of local juniors who have been catapulted into the NRL recently.

“The ability to develop juniors, it’s one of our real strengths,’’ Seward said. “Right now, there isn’t a lot of detail on the draft and we’re keen to have a look at it, definitely.

“But developing juniors is what the success of this club is built on.

“Yes, our NRL side has some imports. But we’ve also had a number of young players come through recently from clubs like Cabramatta.

“And when you have over 7000 e juniors who you’re pumping money into from the age of five up, you want to get some reward for that.”

One draft variation involves clubs being allowed to hand-pick five players who are draft exempt. That would save, say, Newcastle giving up an obvious future star like Immortal Andrew Johns.

Yet if all 16 clubs are offered the same, 80 of the code’s most exciting teenagers won’t be involved in the draft. And how do you sell it as an event, like the NFL Draft in America?

There were also suggestions that the NRL could take over financing junior development. But as one official said: “Junior development is about a lot more than outlaying cash ... it’s the expertise of those on the ground. Do we put a value on them, or the systems we have of identifying and nurturing young talent?”

Asked about anyone taking even partial control of the Eels nursery, Seward said: “Obviously it would be hard to even get us to the negotiating table for that.

“But right now, little information has been made public on what any potential draft may involve. We’re certainly keen to look at anything which helps the viability of the game.”

Newcastle football manager Warren Smiles said that while plenty of discussion lies ahead, the Knights preferred a system where the club got to pick at least five players to remain draft exempt.

“We’re happy to have a look at the draft,’’ he said.

[Supergoose]

I have to say that this is probably the most exciting thing I've heard this year. The thought of NSW and Qld Cup clubs being rationalized and set-up as academies for junior players to progress through. Proper investment and governance in junior League with a clear pathway is crucial. It is probably a good reason why there are so many NSW bred players in the NRL compared with Qld because our pathways are more disjointed with high school league in Qld largely irrelevant compared to NSW. If each Qld Cup club had ties with one or two high schools to use as academies to develop the next generation of stars which then filters through to U18 and U20 Qld/NSW Cup sides, I think we will see more young players sticking with the game in the state leagues and a better quality product at the elite level. The involvement of NRL clubs in the development of players would be through their feeder teams and the player draft at whatever stage would then be for players to go from semi-professional to professional and would stop the waste of lining the player agents pockets.

[DIEHARD]

NRL boss Dave Smith faces rookie road as he drafts a response to concept

RUGBY league has long thrived on the game’s love of an ambush, skulduggery and all-round subterfuge.

Which is why NRL CEO Dave Smith is about to get cornered walking into a gun-fight carrying a butter knife over his proposal to implement a rookie draft for the 2017 season.

Some of the most powerful figures in rugby league, headed by Nick Politis and Phil Gould, were fuming last Sunday when Smith’s concept to even the spread of emerging talent was splashed all over The Sunday Telegraph.

Make no mistake, the NRL and Smith want the rookie draft to happen and they want the concept bedded-down and implemented for the 2017 season.

Smith asked Rabbitohs boss Shane Richardson to compile a paper outlining the pros and cons on the subject earlier this year, with the Rabbitohs boss pushing for the rookie draft to be fast-tracked and in place for the start of the 2016 season last weekend.

But Roosters chairman Politis is diametrically opposed to this, meaning NRL headquarters is headed for an almighty ambush early next month when a collection of the most powerful figures in the game front Smith to vent their view.

From a players’ perspective, Melbourne Storm and NSW Origin forward Ryan Hoffman is a huge supporter of the concept, highlighting how it could be a major tool for rugby league growth.

“It’s a model that certainly works overseas and it’s gone quite well in the AFL the way I see it,” Hoffman said.

“Even going a little bit broader, it keeps the game in the spotlight at the end of each season for a little bit longer and it’s a positive storyline for the game.

“I also like the fact that it means junior rugby league is going to be centrally funded by the NRL.

“I remember when I was 18 years old, I wanted to leave home and experience something different and coming to Melbourne was the best move I ever made.

“Some people have said some players might be forced to go to areas where they don’t necessarily want to.

“The way I see it, if that’s the place that’s going to give you an opportunity to follow your dream and play in the NRL, then you have to go for it. That’s my personal view on it.”

One of the main points of debate when it comes to the draft is the NRL’s concept of possibly allowing club’s to make their top three, four or five juniors exempt from entering into trade week.

The argument against this is it is not really a true draft in the sense of the word, meaning the no. 1 pick is not really the best emerging player in the game.

Also, when you consider Penrith has 9000 juniors, Parramatta has 7500 and Souths has 3500 — compared to the Roosters 768 — clearly there is a gross imbalance.

On the flip side, club’s which invest heavily in junior development such as St George Illawarra, Canberra, Penrith, New Zealand, North Queensland and Brisbane could argue they were being penalised by investing millions in development only for other clubs to reap the rewards.

Wests Tigers centre Chris Lawrence warned this was the area the NRL needed to ensure was safe guarded.

“Definitely the concept is pretty good in terms of spreading emerging talent,” Lawrence said.

“The only thing for a lot of clubs that spend money on junior development is would they still invest the money in developing kids if they their talent is going to get drafted to other clubs.

“As a senior player that would be my biggest concern.

“But for clubs that are finishing down the bottom of the ladder, it’s a great way of strengthening your roster.”

This is where the NRL needs to step in and take over development at the grass roots level, guaranteeing a rookie draft would work.

There is no doubt the concept still needs a lot more consultation with the 16 clubs before a genuine blueprint can be constructed.

But on face value, as much as some clubs may oppose it and Smith will be challenged heavily about it in the short-term, it does appear a strong way forward in the bigger picture of the game.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/