NRL need to get their shit together

[BrotherJim05]

This doesn't have anything to do with COVID. This is just a rant because I'm bored.

If I ever had any criticism of the NRL it would have to be the ridiculous ineptitude of the NRL in monitoring salary cap rorting and the whinging from players about moving between clubs. I feel like there is an easy way to resolve this, however I'm unsure if the mechanics of this would work in practice (so feel free to give two cents).

The answer is an NRL Draft. AFL, NBA, NFL etc etc all do this with a lot of success and I think it could work in the NRL:

• If a player wants to move club, they have to either be traded or become a free agent (once contract expires) and be drafted. The system would have to work that players can't be traded then be paid more by the new club. They should call this rule the Ryan Matterson rule.
• Trading players is completely the clubs choice. There would be very strict trade timelines/deadlines to ensure it doesn't become the wild west, but this wouldn't be a case of players choosing the terms of the trade.
• All player salaries are made available to the public
• Draft order is based on previous season's results, therefore worst teams get first choice
• Clubs that develop juniors have first choice at retaining their junior outside of the draft, otherwise the player goes into the draft with everyone else.
• Clubs can trade draft positions

Not only would this fix a shit load of problems, it would add a lot of excitement for fans every single year. The NRL draft would probably attract as many viewers as the NRL final, given how important it is.

The only downside I see is that players and player agents will whinge and sook about how they should have a choice where they go. I honestly reckon the NRL just say "tough luck" and use back channels to blow up in the media how much the specific player is whinging about it and make them look like a complete little bitch Within a couple of years you would have no more whinging...players would just accept that they could be traded or drafted anywhere.

 

[stryker]

The players should shut the f**k up and do what they are told.
They are resources, pieces on a chess board.
They are to follow directions, when they are told, and how.
We should not be asking their opinion.

Watching Cronk f**k everyone around before signing with the side that was a high favourite to score the premiership that year without him was embarrassing. Seeing him go back to back was sickening and now players from rival codes and countries want to try their luck here....but only for clubs like Melbourne or the Roosters. Get f**ked.

I support a draft.

 

[BrotherJim05]

The players should shut the f**k up and do what they are told.
They are resources, pieces on a chess board.
They are to follow directions, when they are told, and how.
We should not be asking their opinion.

Watching Cronk f**k everyone around before signing with the side that was a high favourite to score the premiership that year without him was embarrassing. Seeing him go back to back was sickening and now players from rival codes and countries want to try their luck here....but only for clubs like Melbourne or the Roosters. Get f**ked.

I support a draft.

Exactly. Cronk is a fkn perfect example. He wants out of Melbourne because he wants to move to Sydney. He then has to go to Melbourne front office and request to be traded to a Sydney team. If he can't then he goes into the free agent draft. Gold Coast would have the first opportunity to draft him, otherwise he would have to just stay in Melbourne.

Imagine the balance shift if Cronk went to Gold Coast.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Along with the draft:

What about they reduce the cap to $7m and every man in the squad gets paid the same.

A bonus for reps on account of a percentage of gate, sponsorships and advertising revenue so connected which should provide the incentive.

Nsw and qld can play 3 foreigners each on top of their existing (dodgy) state allocation.

A fourth most “valuable player game” with all proceeds to charities.

A superfund which must be paid into by the nrl in advance of each season audited by the federal treasury.

Rugby league executives maximum salary at $200k per year plus current perks.

All players to pass a social leadership course before being graded with a minimum of 200 hours community service work every year.

At the moment, we have too many selfish loafers who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves.

They live for being delinquents and have a 13 year old mindset.

They want respect, they can earn it, like we have to.

Instead of f**king schoolgirls, they can help build a new school library, service the teachers cars, add a lick of paint in the assembly area.

Take them out to aboriginal reserves to help clean up some of the messy ones. A bit of public service.

teddy would miss his soy and lentil latte and deviant eastern suburb art galleries. “ wow that’s great can I buy that?” “Um sorry Mr Tedesco that’s a door handle to the switchboard room”

Ungrateful treacherous scrote he turned out to be.

 

[gordsy]

Draft and fixed payments for players outside of a salary cap are illegal. It's a restraint of trade and would and has been found to be such. That said I think a draft would be amazing for league but good luck getting the selfish merkins to agree with that.

 

[Shredder]

Firstly, I love the idea of a draft.

1. We had a draft, it was contested in court (Terry Hill?) and as such the soft cocks will never try it again.
2. If you have a player draft, you dont need player managers anymore. They wont let that happen.

 

[sensesmaybenumbed]

Firstly, I love the idea of a draft.

1. We had a draft, it was contested in court (Terry Hill?) and as such the soft cocks will never try it again.
2. If you have a player draft, you dont need player managers anymore. They wont let that happen.

The players should be in favour of that, along with salaries paid directly by the NRL. No manager= nobody taking a slice of the pie

 

[BrotherJim05]

If a draft is illegal how do the AFL do it?

 

[macnaz]

If a draft is illegal how do the AFL do it?

The AFL players have accepted it as part of the games structure and didnt challenge it in court like NRL players did, namely Terry Hill.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

A draft won't work.

Draft's work when the players don't have an alternative or at least an alternative that offers similar money.

It works in AFL simply because if a player doesn't accept it what is he going to do as an alternative?

NRL players have ESL and Rugby Union as alternatives.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

A draft won't work.

Draft's work when the players don't have an alternative or at least an alternative that offers similar money.

It works in AFL simply because if a player doesn't accept it what is he going to do as an alternative?

NRL players have ESL and Rugby Union as alternatives.

mmm...massive transfer fees to the latter?

A player agrees to pay the nrl 80% of his yearly earnings over the next 5 years in a “ foreign league or code”

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

mmm...massive transfer fees to the latter?

A player agrees to pay the nrl 80% of his yearly earnings over the next 5 years in a “ foreign league or code”

See Terry Hill case. It only takes one player to fight it in court and it all falls apart. That's why only a comp with no other real alternatives for the players has a draft.

 

[gordsy]

Firstly, I love the idea of a draft.

2. If you have a player draft, you dont need player managers anymore. They wont let that happen.

Not sure that's true. They still have player managers in afl, same like they do for college football players in the U.S
You are spot on thought that we need a draft .

 

[BrotherJim05]

Whatever the answer is (which I still think is a draft), the players have too much power. Simply being able to say
"whinge whinge I don't want to play for that team, I want to play for a good team whinge whinge"
"Ryan you have 2 years left. After that time you can play for another team"
"But I want to play for a good team"
"maybe if you help your teamates get better the team will be good"
*cries" "NO! I WANT TO PLAY FOR A GOOD TEAM NOW!"
"okayyy then. Let me make some calls"
"I want to play with Mitchell"
"Okay Ryan, you can play with Mitchell"
"good..."

Any other sport would crucify a player for doing this, however we seem to accept it as part of the times. It's a f**king disgrace and needs to be dealt with one way or another.

 

[super_coach]

Whatever the answer is (which I still think is a draft), the players have too much power. Simply being able to say
"whinge whinge I don't want to play for that team, I want to play for a good team whinge whinge"
"Ryan you have 2 years left. After that time you can play for another team"
"But I want to play for a good team"
"maybe if you help your teamates get better the team will be good"
*cries" "NO! I WANT TO PLAY FOR A GOOD TEAM NOW!"
"okayyy then. Let me make some calls"
"I want to play with Mitchell"
"Okay Ryan, you can play with Mitchell"
"good..."

Any other sport would crucify a player for doing this, however we seem to accept it as part of the times. It's a f**king disgrace and needs to be dealt with one way or another.

It’s the parasites that run the NRL, of course I a referring to the player managers. They are the ones who control what player goes where and when. Contracts mean very little to them of course except what commission they get.
Most clubs are black mailed by these low life’s as they have multiple players on their books and they can not get offside with them.

The best thing Peter V could do for the game at present. Is wrestle the power off the player mangers and reinstate the integrity of a contract. Than you might start to see a more equal distribution of player talent as any under table stuff you would imagine has the player mangers DNA all over it

 

[BrotherJim05]

It’s the parasites that run the NRL, of course I a referring to the player managers. They are the ones who control what player goes where and when. Contracts mean very little to them of course except what commission they get.
Most clubs are black mailed by these low life’s as they have multiple players on their books and they can not get offside with them.

The best thing Peter V could do for the game at present. Is wrestle the power off the player mangers and reinstate the integrity of a contract. Than you might start to see a more equal distribution of player talent as any under table stuff you would imagine has the player mangers DNA all over it

Yeah player managers definitely are at the core of this problem. To be honest I don't blame them. There job is to protect their client's interests and maximize their earnings while keeping them happy. The blame for this mess is completely on the NRL for their spineless approach to managing these dickheads.

If I was running NRL and wanted to take an immediate step in resolving this (without completely overhauling the system with a draft) I'd simply:
1. Make all player salaries available to the public
2. If a player breaks their contract with their current club they cannot sign for more money at a new club (until their original contract expires), but clubs can upgrade and extend their contracted players salaries as per normal.

Just this simple change would make a huge difference. Firstly, it would be extremely difficult for NRL to "turn a blind eye" to blatant salary cap rorting as the media would be able to put 2 and 2 together without having to speculate on salary. Secondly, players would be less inclined to bail on their contracts if there is no monetary incentive, in fact they would be more likely to stay. If this rule was in place when Catterson was with us, 100% he would have stayed with us and accepted a contract upgrade. Why would he bail when he could earn an extra 300k

 

[gordsy]

Yeah player managers definitely are at the core of this problem. To be honest I don't blame them. There job is to protect their client's interests and maximize their earnings while keeping them happy. The blame for this mess is completely on the NRL for their spineless approach to managing these dickheads.

If I was running NRL and wanted to take an immediate step in resolving this (without completely overhauling the system with a draft) I'd simply:
1. Make all player salaries available to the public
2. If a player breaks their contract with their current club they cannot sign for more money at a new club (until their original contract expires), but clubs can upgrade and extend their contracted players salaries as per normal.

Just this simple change would make a huge difference. Firstly, it would be extremely difficult for NRL to "turn a blind eye" to blatant salary cap rorting as the media would be able to put 2 and 2 together without having to speculate on salary. Secondly, players would be less inclined to bail on their contracts if there is no monetary incentive, in fact they would be more likely to stay. If this rule was in place when Catterson was with us, 100% he would have stayed with us and accepted a contract upgrade. Why would he bail when he could earn an extra 300k

Why do you need to release player salaries to the press re cap rorting. If the nrl can't figure it out with the unit they have to police the salary cap then too bad. Surely the players get some things to remain private.

As for point two I'd love to see it but it probably amounts to "restraint of trade" which is illegal and why the draft fell over.

Maybe any players who wishes to break a contract has to give 10% of the gross value of his contract or new contract which ever is higher to country rugby league.

 

[Tigerm]

Why do you need to release player salaries to the press re cap rorting. If the nrl can't figure it out with the unit they have to police the salary cap then too bad. Surely the players get some things to remain private.

As for point two I'd love to see it but it probably amounts to "restraint of trade" which is illegal and why the draft fell over.

Maybe any players who wishes to break a contract has to give 10% of the gross value of his contract or new contract which ever is higher to country rugby league.

Couldn't the NRL refuse to allow the new contract, unless it was amicable by all parties?

 

[T-Boon]

I think the problem with the Terry Hill one was he wanted to play for Manly but he was drafted to Wests. I wonder if that problem is not solved by emphasising the trading options available. So was it possible under that system for Wests and Manly to strike a deal - was it possible for Manly to trade with Wests for their draft pick?

 

[super_coach]

The NRL will not get a better time than now to try and have another crack at the draft. With plenty of question marks hanging over the game’s finances the players union know they have to be sensible in their demands.