The NRL needs a draft

[imported_Mystery Man]

I realised today that being a Broncos supporter is boring. The club has made the finals for the past ten years and will make it again this year. They will make the finals for the next two or three years, and will probably make it for the next ten years. In fourteen years, the Broncos have been in the top six teams twelve times. In their first year, they finished seventh, and in 1999 they finished eighth. In reality, they were one of the top three or four teams in 1999 - their poor start to season was what resulted in them finishing so low. Their is no excitement in following the Broncos. It is inevitable that they will be successful. They’ve won five titles in the past ten years, and any success that they have in the next few years will not mean a great deal. People wander why the crowds are down in Brisbane. The dislike of ANZ stadium is reason that is forwarded, as is the fallout from Super League. While both of these reasons have some validity, I think that they are minor issues. The real reason why the people of Brisbane aren’t passionate enough to turn out to games is complacency. Everyone expects the Broncos to succeed, and when they do, it means little. To me, the perfect example of this was the 1999 season. After only winning one of their first ten games, the Broncos were on the bottom of the table. They looked no chance of making the finals. Only a miracle run would get them there. When that miracle run occurred, it captured the imagination of the Brisbane footballing public, and the club average 36 000 people over their final four games. Broncos fans finally had something to get passionate about, something to cheer for, and they responded. Since then, the Broncos have gone on their merry way, winning the 2000 title, and getting within one game of the 2001 decider. Things have gone back to how they usually are, and people are bored again. Compare this to the Warriors. Here is a club that has been starved of success, but finally is on the verge of something special. Rugby league fans in Auckland in genuinely excited by their teams potential success, and, as a result, their crowds have increased and people are looking forward to the coming season. In 2000, Penrith put together a team that was winning a lot of games and looked like they could challenge for the title. Their fans responded by attending their matches in droves. Unfortunately, this kind of thing doesn’t happen enough. Teams like the Cowboys, Souths, Wests/Balmain, Penrith (except for 2000) seemed bogged down at the bottom of the table, while the Broncos, Eels, Bulldogs, Roosters, Sharks and Knights always seem to be in with a shot come finals time. This is bad for the game. It breeds complacency in the fans of the successful teams, and saps the interest of fans of the strugglers. It results in the competition having an air of inevitability about it. That results in boredom and a lack of passion. That is why I believe the game needs a draft. This is the best way of evening out the talent in the competition. It would help the strugglers, and it would make it harder for the successful clubs to recruit more and more big-name players and promising juniors. It would mean that the Cowboys would have a better chance of moving up the ladder, and would mean that the Broncos wouldn’t be guaranteed of making the finals every year. People may say that a second Brisbane team should be introduced, and I agree with that. But I don’t think it would have any effect on the success of the Broncos, without a draft. People say that their are too many teams in the finals, and I agree. But that doesn’t mean that the same teams aren’t going to be the one fighting it out every year. Unfortunately, their is a lot of opposition to the draft. Clubs don’t want to give up their juniors, and the Players Association (who seem to care little for best interests of the game) won’t stand for it. While I understand their concerns, what concerns me in the big picture, and I want to see the game move forward. As a Broncos supporter, I want to be excited when they make the finals. As a league supporter, I want Cowboys fans to believe that their team has a chance to challenge for the title. I can’t see this happening unless a draft is introduced.

 

[legend]

Mystery Man, you put forward an excellent argument and I agree with everything you said. Let's spread the wealth for the good of the game. When Canterbury did their remarkable run in 1998, it was one of the best periods for the game in the last ten years. People were either behind them or against them. No one sat on the fence and too would like to believe clubs like North Queensland can some achieve that level of success.

The draft could solve a lot of problems but clubs like Newcastle, who are arguably producing the best juniors in the league at present would definitely be against a draft. If they unearthed the next Johns, they wouldn't be too happy about putting him into the draft. There has to be a way to slap a franchise tag on one junior from each club or better still, let the players nominate whether or not they would like to enter the draft. I'm sure there are many players out there who would like a shot at first grade with a less successful club instead of being stuck in first division with a successful club. Wade McKinnon is a perfect example. A great talent who couldn't get any game time with the Eels due Brett Hodgson and now is a potential superstar at Souths. There are plenty of players out there like McKinnon who just want to pit themselves against the best on a weekly basis. The draft is the solution to this.

Established first graders should also be eligible for the draft but concessions need to be made for long serving players. The way to compliment a draft is to have trades. If a club wants a player badly enough, compensate the club handsomely. The NFL draft is the perfect model for Rugby League. The team coming last has first pick in the draft or they can trade that pick with another club for several established first graders.

I'll do an example.

North Queensland finish last in the NRL and therefore have the number one draft pick and the number pick in this years draft is Brett Kimmorley(who else?). The Roosters finish fourth in the NRL and have the twelfth pick in the draft and really need a halfback and say to North Queensland, we have a surplus of outside backs and for the first pick in the draft we will give you Shannon Hegarty and Luke Phillips and our draft pick(12). This way, the agreement becomes mutually beneficial for all parties. The Cowboys end up with Hegarty, Phillips and a draft pick and the Roosters get their prized halfback.

Voila!!!

 

[El Duque]

If the players were in favour of a draft we'd already have one.

 

[legend]

I don't think the players have been educated enough on the concepts on how the draft can work in their favour. The current systems suits the player managers more than anyone else and i'm 100% certain, they pull the strings for the players and tell them what they should think on issues like this.

How come the AFL and NFL can run a successful draft and the NRL is always lagging twenty years behind? Probaly the same reason we have five governing bodies for one game.

 

[imported_Noodles]

Mystery Man & legend

I totally agree with both your posts.

This would undoubtedly improve the game - there are so many examples of where this concept has been successful.

However the only problem (which is also the biggest problem with League IMO) is that there are many groups that put their own interestsabove the game.

In this case the players got the decision overuled, not because it was bad for the game, but because it suited them better to not have a draft (and the managers).

No one who was against the draft that I can remember was against it because it would damage the game.

I still think that the year that the draft was put in place was the best season that League has ever had. It was a very close competition all year, and some struggling clubs made an immediate improvement.

However if the NRLdid get the draft going again, they need to ensure that there was no way a player could overturn the decision in the courts.

The new CEO is a law man, so if you are reading this Mr Gallop, please do what you can to make it happen !

 

[Broncos-fan-baller]

I cannot speak for the AFL because I've somewhat drwn myself away from it since being here in Sydney, but many NFL supporters swear that the draft is the best thing to happen to the American game. That is one reason (many claim one of the main reasons) why the game regularly draws huge crowd attendances, is highly competitive, has enormous public interestand as well asinterest from all corners of the world. The game is so competitve for the simple reason thatbecause the teams year in rear out are so closely matched.Very rarely, and for a number of years now, have the wide spread favourites amongst the media expertsin the begining of the seasonbeen successful in their quest for the Super Bowl come playoff time.Case in point: Rams this past competition season.

I think it's not only a great idea, but one that's bound for success and acceptence by the general league fan...if they can just give it a go. But, like Mystery Man said "Clubs don’t want to give up their juniors, and the Players Association (who seem to care little for best interests of the game) won’t stand for it" As well as the fact that, I believe, the NRL admins are affraid of change and have hung on the the words 'tradition' and 'loyalty' for way too long. I can't see it happening...not anytime in the near future.

Shame!
'fan-baller

 

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[legend]

Warlock, does my example not make any sense?

 

[legend]

This may help:

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2002/

 

This message has been deleted by the author.

 

[imported_Jackal]

I know this has more to do with the NFL salary cap rather than the draft system they have operating, but i thought it was an interesting read considering. It's from the webpage that raidpatch enlightened us to on another thread..
<table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan=3>
Question
</td></tr> <tr> <td colspan=3> With the recent NFL draft, players are now negotiating contracts. How does the NFL's salary cap work? Answer</td></tr> <tr> <td colspan=3>
<center></center>In 1994, the owners' and players' associations of the National Football League approved a new collective-bargaining agreement. This agreement included a salary cap designed to keep player salaries from increasing at the rate they were at the time. The salary cap is essentially a set amount of money that each of the NFL's 31 teams is allowed to spend on player salaries for any given year. For the upcoming 2001 season, that amount is approximately $67.4-million, or 63% of the League's defined gross revenues (DGR) from last year divided by the 31 NFL teams. At first glance, that amount of money may seem a lot. When you factor in an average of 57 players on an NFL roster during the season, that amounts to a salary of around $1.18-million per player. Again, a lot of money -- however, each team usually has a few big-money players, like a star quarterback or running back. Let's suppose a team has two star players, each with a salary of $8-million per year. This cuts the cap room to $51.4-million for 55 players, cutting the average salary of the remaining players by $245,000 each. Because salaries have continued to grow at a rate outpacing the salary cap, teams have found ways to circumvent the cap. Signing bonuses don't count toward a team's cap for a given year. A player who receives a signing bonus gets more money for that year than his recorded "salary," leaving more room in the cap for the other players. Say, for example, a player wants a seven-year, $60-million contract. Let's say that the owner decides to give that player an $11-million signing bonus, which is all paid out in the first year but gets factored into the cap as prorated over the course of the seven-year contract ($11-million / 7 years = $1.57-million per year). Most NFL contracts are "back-ended" -- most of the base salary is located in the last two or three years of the contract. If we suppose that our player's contract is structured so that he has a base salary of $2-million the first year, with higher base salaries in the final two years of the contract, the $13-million (base salary + signing bonus) paid out in the first year appears as $3.57-million to the cap! The advantage of signing bonuses for the owner is that he now has more money to spend under the cap. This is how the Washington Redskins ran up a total payroll of $92.41-million in the 2000 season when the cap was $67-million. The advantage for the player is that all signing-bonus money is guaranteed to be paid, whereas an NFL contract is not guaranteed. There are drawbacks to signing bonuses for the owner, however. Because the bonus is guaranteed to the player, if the player is released, traded or waived, all of the bonus money that was being prorated throughout the length of the contract is accelerated to the present year. So, if our team released its star player after the third year of his contract (before June 1) for whatever reason, the entire remainder of the bonus, almost $6.3-million, will have to count toward the cap the next year (if the team releases the player after June 1, only the yearly $1.57-million will count the next year, and the remainder will count the subsequent year). Some teams have gotten themselves in trouble using signing bonuses, running up huge portions of cap room taken up by players who haven't played for them in several years. With so much less money to spend than their rival teams, they have little chance of fielding a very competitive team for that year, as the best free agents usually go where the money is. </td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[Cronulla_Mania]

Agreed, the players are professionals, they get the big bucks, they should play wherever they are drafted into. If every other sport can cope with it, then im sure the NRL players can as well...

Bring Back the Draft!

Moffo.

 

[Cronulla_Mania]

But now that i think about it, the great 'leveler' should in theory be the salary cap. Each club has the same amount of money to be spent on their players. This in theory should produce a level comp. But this will obviously never happen because of....

a)Stupid CEOs who play to much for over the hill players (hello West Tigers and Cowboys)

b)Creative accounting

That is my whole argument, if the NRL can work out a way to better police the salary cap, it would almost be as good as a draft (it would produce the same effect, a levelling out of the competition). The NRL need independent assessors to enforce the cap, and make sure CEOs aren't rorting the system

Moffo.

 

[Johnsy]

Its refreshing to hear a broncs supporter wanting what is best for the game, well done mystery, a shining example for all.
Johnsy

 

[imported_the bug]

This is a well put together thread. The argument for a draft is fairly plain to me. The financial advantages that come with a one team town should not automatically mean that the one town team gets to draw from a larger pool of talent than anyone else ever.
I guess my point supports that the Draft and Salary Cap would be a two pronged tool to result in a win win for the league and the clubs.
I would really love to see the players salaries disclosed at Group certificate level/tax returns in order to check against the Salary Cap. ie: What did Brad Fittler do for City Ford to pay him $400,000 this year? (Please Roosters, I just usethese names as an example)......Hell they get paid enough money as it is. The only bun-fight would be between jealous players who believed they were the highest paid at the club.
A draft could surely include the facility to make clubs who pay for one player, release another.
I have one concern about young blokes being drafted fromsay Souths to North Queensland at age 17.......... They need a lot of guidance and just protection...Mostly from themselves.
I'd like to see all clubs stick their hands up and say "Lets have this draft, and we'll sign here to say that we will be responsible in our actionsin converting this young bloke into a man"
Piggins citedthe Manly signing of Ian Roberts back in 1990 as leaving a big hole at Souths. If Manly had've exchangedsome players for Roberts it might have worked out different.

Once again some good thoughts are happening here!

 

[CanadianSteve]

The NFL draft was around for a long time before free agency or the salary cap. When there was only the draft, players had no choice of who to play for and no chance of changing teams later unless traded by the team. Gradually in the last 15-20 years players have demanded more freedom of movement. (In other NA sports too.) Free agency came next, which drove salaries very high. The NBA and NFL then added salary caps to restore some competitive balance between richer and poorer teams. They have been pretty successful, whereas baseball, which has unrestricted free agency but no salary cap, has a terrible imbalance between stronger (richer) and weaker (poorer) teams.
I don't know the whole NRL situation, but it seems to me to be very different because they already have the salary cap and free agency (I think?) but no draft.
The NFL and NBA players associations have tried to eliminate the draft in negotiations in the past, but have only succeeded in reducing the number of rounds, especially the NBA which used to have 10 rounds but now has only 2.

 

[Atilla]

I just wanted to commend you on your post Mystery Man. It was a pleasure to read

 

[imported_realraul]

a draft would be the best thing for the game but it will be almost impossible to start one from scratch. as canadian steve said the nfl had the draft for a long time and the players have been fighting it for a long time. it was a shitfight for them to just get some kind of free agency. now they have both and for the players under contract that want to leave, the club can trade them for draft picks and money.

this is what nrl clubs should do. if they have a player they know will be talented they should lock him up to a long term contract. this way if another club wants that player they will have to deal with his club first. there are no draft picks on offer so some sort of monetary fee could be worked out. a transfer fee if you wish, similar to the european soccer clubs.

now this relies on alot of money being available to be thrown around and i'm not sure that is the case. but it is one way the poorer clubs can kickstart their recovery, a shitload of money for their one great player may let them buy three or four other players that can give them more value. if souths and wests did this in the 70s and 80s they would probably be two of the stronger clubs now.

 

[imported_Mystery Man]

Thanks for the positive response, everyone. It's good to see that most people here are interested in the overall good of the game.