$49,000 per junior

[Father Ted]

$49,000 per junior: Why clubs want the NRL to fund development

League News
Date June 7, 2014 - 8:00PM

Brad Walter





Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...development-20140607-zs0gb.html#ixzz33x6TeGi1





St George Illawarra has spent up to $3.5 million developing 70 players currently with other clubs in the NRL, NSW Cup or under-20s National Youth Competition.

North Queensland have developed 67 players at a similar cost who are now contracted elsewhere in the NRL or play in other elite competitions such as the NYC and Queensland Cup, while more than 50 players who have come through Wests Tigers ranks are playing for rival clubs at either NRL or NYC level.

The figures are similar at other "development clubs" such as Canberra, Penrith, Parramatta and Newcastle, who along with the Dragons, Cowboys and Tigers supply the vast majority of talent for the NRL and other elite competitions.

The cost of developing each player from the age of 15 until they are ready for the NYC is estimated to be about $49,000, which Knights recruitment manager Peter Mulholland says includes gym fees, coaching, playing and training gear, physiotherapy and medical expenses.

Yet clubs such as St George Illawarra receive no real compensation for the players they produce from either those who recruit them or the game itself.

"This is all fundamental to the growth of the game and, from a St George Illawarra point of view, we do a lot for the game by developing elite players and continuing to invest in the game's propagation, which means participation, fans and members," Dragons chief executive Peter Doust said.

The NRL has been working with the clubs on a review of player development structures but the issue has been thrust firmly in the spotlight by Canberra's loss of boom fullback Anthony Milford to Brisbane and the Raiders targeting of West Tigers rising star James Tedesco.

Milford, 20, has been in the Raiders junior system since the age of 13 and had played just 18 NRL games when he agreed to a $900,000 per season deal with the Broncos, prompting frustrated officials to question the value of their $3 million annual investment in the club's elite development programs and the local Canberra Region Rugby League competition.

Despite Tedesco's backflip last week on a $2 million, three-year deal with Canberra, Tigers chief executive Grant Mayer is also contemplating cuts to development programs worth between $600,000 and $1 million per year.
Doust and North Queensland chief executive Peter Jourdain say their clubs spend a similar amount each season.
"We have kids as young as 13 running around in the south-west of Sydney and in the inner-west that are basically linked to the Wests Tigers, and say in the under 13s we will have 60 kids that we put through a three or four month program each year," Mayer explains.

"But how many of those kids will come through and play NRL? It could be one. So consider the amount of money spent through 13s, 14s, 15s, 16s and upwards on developing that one kid, and that one kid can then choose where he goes.

"You look at guys like Ben Te'o, Sam Moa and even before that Jarryd Hayne and Israel Folau came out of our catchment area ... but if one of them go on to play State of Origin or Test football what does this club get for that?"

Mulholland, who previously worked at Penrith and Canterbury, said: "There is a lot of cost in developing a kid and in my opinion the game should take control of development completely, then hand it back to the clubs in the sense that you have your development officers come out in their Wests Tigers gear or Penrith Panthers gear because kids associate with a Dragon or a Panther - not an NRL logo".

With the NRL requesting clubs submit individual business plans as part of the new funding model to be introduced next season, Doust has asked the NRL to use the discretionary funding element of the system to support the development work the Dragons have invested so heavily in since the 1999 merger between St George and Illawarra.

To offset a reduction over recent years of up to $5 million in funding from their leagues clubs, the Dragons have adopted the "right game, right venue" strategy to increase revenue by moving four home games to bigger venues and Doust said they did not want to cut back on development.
"We would like the NRL to contribute as we have for many, many years in supporting those programs rather than see the club retreat to just an elite program," Doust said.

"I think we have heard people like Wests Tigers talking about not investing in developing young players if we keep having them taken from our programs, well our view is that we have produced 70 for the game and we don't see that as a negative. You can't keep them all but if they are in the game and they are developing the product of rugby league we should all be happy about that."
Jourdain said the Cowboys were happy to fund their own elite pathways but believe the NRL should administer or provide grants for general game development in North Queensland under the Cowboys banner.

"We counted 67 players last week who had been in our junior development programs, and that includes guys like Aiden Guerra at the Roosters," Jourdain said.
"I think we should continue to do that for our own club's benefit but we should get some increase in our grant towards the general development stuff we do or if it is more co-ordinated and funded by the NRL that is fine as well."

North Queensland spent about $500,000 per year on each of the two areas, while the annual cost of elite development for the Dragons - who run separate St George and Illawarra teams in the Harold Mathews and SG Ball competitions - is about $800,000. In comparison, some teams are estimated to spend little more than $100,000 per year.

"Already those clubs are going to be ahead of us as a club and they will put that money in NRL football structure and they will invest more money in sports science, in equipment and facilities," Mayer said.

"They have made that choice and good luck to them whereas we have made the choice to I guess let our facilities start to crumble to a certain degree and spend the money on the development of young kids."



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/49000-per-junior-why-clubs-want-the-nrl-to-fund-development-20140607-zs0gb.html#ixzz33x67BG1s

 

[Drop Bear]

This is a great read, a real insight into how much our great club puts into the game.
Makes me proud really.
Hope to see the NRL step up and put some system into place to reward or compensate us and the few other clubs who put in.

 

[Dakink]

I cant remember where I read it, but I liked Doust's reply. Has some onenseen it? Something along the lines of, We are comfortable spending on junior dev as we see it as not only developing players for us but helping grow the whole game. Or something like that ;-)

 

[possm]

Each time a player is first registered with the NRL, the Club which developed him should be paid 100k to be used in their junior development program.

This would be an easy and fair way to deal with this problem.

 

[TruSaint]

This is a great read, a real insight into how much our great club puts into the game.
Makes me proud really.
Hope to see the NRL step up and put some system into place to reward or compensate us and the few other clubs who put in.

Excellent call DB

 

[pinkmoon]

It's inevitable that some of these players are going to end up at other clubs, and there is nothing that can be done about that. The answer is not to compensate a club on a player by player basis (can you imagine the kind of red tape involved in a process of that nature? the game can't even get State of Origin eligibility sorted for starters).

Clubs are not entitled to cash payments (as slated by Possm) for doing something they would do anyway, that is also in the best interests of their own organisation. The solution is for the NRL to identify these development areas, and directly assist with funding and programming at a micro level, rather than just throw cash at a selection of clubs, and hope they use it appropriately.

 

[TruSaint]

It's inevitable that some of these players are going to end up at other clubs, and there is nothing that can be done about that. The answer is not to compensate a club on a player by player basis (can you imagine the kind of red tape involved in a process of that nature? the game can't even get State of Origin eligibility sorted for starters).

Clubs are not entitled to cash payments (as slated by Possm) for doing something they would do anyway, that is also in the best interests of their own organisation. The solution is for the NRL to identify these development areas, and directly assist with funding and programming at a micro level, rather than just throw cash at a selection of clubs, and hope they use it appropriately.

I think that was drop bears suggestion. Open to some assistance and or remuneration. Not saying its easy, but if a handful of clubs are providing much of the talent pool, then assistance at any level is needed. Clubs that select to minimise their expenditure on these grass roots programs and taking an unfair advantage of the system.

This goes way beyond club loyalty. Its for the survival of the code. We are competing with AFL, soccer and even union. Recognition and support of developing clubs is imperative for the long term success of our code.

 

[pinkmoon]

I think that was drop bears suggestion. Open to some assistance and or remuneration. Not saying its easy, but if a handful of clubs are providing much of the talent pool, then assistance at any level is needed. Clubs that select to minimise their expenditure on these grass roots programs and taking an unfair advantage of the system.

This goes way beyond club loyalty. Its for the survival of the code. We are competing with AFL, soccer and even union. Recognition and support of developing clubs is imperative for the long term success of our code.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Acka]

What I'd love to see is a 20% discount given to local juniors. For example if St George junior Jason Nightingale was getting paid $300K by the Dragons only $240K would count under the salary cap. This in theory will encourage clubs to spend more money developing their juniors which is where the serious competition from other sports is (Soccer and AFL) and also allow the players to be paid more at the top level which will lead to a lot less players switching codes.

 

[possm]

What I'd love to see is a 20% discount given to local juniors. For example if St George junior Jason Nightingale was getting paid $300K by the Dragons only $240K would count under the salary cap. This in theory will encourage clubs to spend more money developing their juniors which is where the serious competition from other sports is (Soccer and AFL) and also allow the players to be paid more at the top level which will lead to a lot less players switching codes.

Under your suggested discount system, the Club would have more money under the cap to spend on first grade players.

As I see it, the Club is spending approximately $1m per year on the development of juniors. Your scheme would not give the Club any funds to continue developing our juniors.

By the NRL paying our Club 100k for each of our juniors when first registered with the NRL, we would at least have a fair contribution from the NRL towards junior development within our catchment area.

Remember, about 1 in 100 juniors actually make NRL level, so even the 100k per NRL registered player would not fully cover the investment made by our Club.

 

[Slippery Morris]

Grate call Acka. Also if a player moves to another club then the club that developed the junior should get a % of his Salary for his 1st contract. So for Anthony Milford's case, Canberra should get 10% of his 850k a year salary. So he would receive 765k and Canberra 85k each year until the contract is up.

That will make the player think more about moving as well as increase the price for clubs to pinch players. If Anthony wants 850k the the Bronks will have to up the offer to 900k plus to incorporate Canberra's fees.

Another positive with this is it will let teams know what other teams are actually paying and they can supply that info to the Salary Cap Auditor. So for a team like Canterbury which has about 15+ players, all those players contract details are with the other clubs and they can supply that to Ian Scubert so he can have some idea how much they are paying for the players poached from other clubs. He can match that info whith what is on their books to see if they figures match.

Dragons, Panthers, Cowboys etc would make a mint if that was the case and deservedly so. They should be rewarded rather than be punished.

 

[Morotti]

I think the lump sum payment is easier. I would have said something like $50k as $100k seems quite a lot but some payment should be given.

If the player is contracted either at SG Ball, Harold Matthews or u20's level and then goes on to sign an NRL contract for another club then the club that spent money on his juniot development gets compensation.

I also think that there should be a small benefit if they go through your junior system and then into first grade. Perhaps 10% of their salary should not be included in the salary cap. And then when they become a long serving player this rises to 20%. A long serving player in my opinion should be something around 6 years with one club on a first grade contract.

 

[pinkmoon]

Grate call Acka. Also if a player moves to another club then the club that developed the junior should get a % of his Salary for his 1st contract. So for Anthony Milford's case, Canberra should get 10% of his 850k a year salary. So he would receive 765k and Canberra 85k each year until the contract is up.

That will make the player think more about moving as well as increase the price for clubs to pinch players. If Anthony wants 850k the the Bronks will have to up the offer to 900k plus to incorporate Canberra's fees.

Another positive with this is it will let teams know what other teams are actually paying and they can supply that info to the Salary Cap Auditor. So for a team like Canterbury which has about 15+ players, all those players contract details are with the other clubs and they can supply that to Ian Scubert so he can have some idea how much they are paying for the players poached from other clubs. He can match that info whith what is on their books to see if they figures match.

Dragons, Panthers, Cowboys etc would make a mint if that was the case and deservedly so. They should be rewarded rather than be punished.

No way man.

Can you imagine if we never merged with the Steelers? The St George area has contributed about 5 juniors in the last 15 years; we'd be in the same boat as the Roosters, and Canterbury. You cannot punish a club because their demographic consists of 65% over 50's age category, with strong middle eastern, Sudanese, and Asian populations.

Most of the comments in this thread relate to a vested interest in St George's success and nothing more (it is a St George forum after all ;-)). We don't need f**king hand outs and percentages for being a strong junior nursery. We are not doing it out of the goodness of our hearts, our aim is to hand pick the best of them and keep them at a slightly discounted price (Creagh, Cooper, Gasnier, etc).

As long as the NRL help out at a JUNIOR level, you cannot expect anymore than that.

 

[Acka]

No way man.

Can you imagine if we never merged with the Steelers? The St George area has contributed about 5 juniors in the last 15 years; we'd be in the same boat as the Roosters, and Canterbury. You cannot punish a club because their demographic consists of 65% over 50's age category, with strong middle eastern, Sudanese, and Asian populations.

Most of the comments in this thread relate to a vested interest in St George's success and nothing more (it is a St George forum after all ;-)). We don't need f**king hand outs and percentages for being a strong junior nursery. We are not doing it out of the goodness of our hearts, our aim is to hand pick the best of them and keep them at a slightly discounted price (Creagh, Cooper, Gasnier, etc).

As long as the NRL help out at a JUNIOR level, you cannot expect anymore than that.

You can give those clubs that have a non existant junior league like the Roosters an area of regional NSW and QLD to call their own. Which is win win. It levels the local junior playing field and the game in the bush gets more money towards development.

 

[TonyTrugett]

You can give those clubs that have a non existant junior league like the Roosters an area of regional NSW and QLD to call their own. Which is win win. It levels the local junior playing field and the game in the bush gets more money towards development.

Its funny, I remember Ian Walsh suggesting this in a newspaper article about 30 years ago.

 

[Acka]

Its funny, I remember Ian Walsh suggesting this in a newspaper article about 30 years ago.

Abdul was a great man