There has to be a draft introduced. Surely!

[Rob Dragon 1]

So I sit here watching the Thursday night game played against the two heavyweight teams of the last 10 years (Storm v Roosters) and think to myself ....."how can two teams with absolutely no juniors continue to dominate the NRL, year after year after year"?

Are they brilliantly managed? Yes
Are they brilliantly coached? Yes
Do they have heavyweight corporate support? Yes

But surely having these two teams with no juniors being developed is not a healthy advertisement for the game?

I do not begrudge The Panthers one bit of their success. They are a club built on their junior base. Good for them.

Why is the NRL so intent on Melbourne having the dominant team year after year, after year, after year, after year?

I am so over The Storm. What have they given the NRL? Filthy wrestling tactics. Flagrant abuse of the salary cap. A soulless rubble. But supported by the NRL to the hilt. It is nauseating.

And what of the development club like The Dragons; who are admittedly administered by a crew who would make the administration of "The Office" look like Harvard Graduates?

Surely the NRL has to compensate the development clubs when the mercenary Storm, Roosters etc come knocking? Surely developing juniors (the lifeblood of the game) has to count for something?

I for one cannot wait until the demise of The Storm. My despised teams used to be The Eels, The Sea-Eagles, The Bulldogs and of course The Broncos and The Sharks. But are any of those sides remotely as offensive as The Storm?

 

[The Villain]

It’s not about developing juniors anymore. It’s about being well run.

 

[Rob Dragon 1]

It’s not about developing juniors anymore. It’s about being well run.

I think you're probably right.

 

[The Villain]

And developing someone else’s juniors.

 

[muzby]

With V’landys at the helm, we’ve certainly introduced the daft..

 

[Gareth67]

Excellent post Rob Dragon , you have said everything that has been on my mind for quite some time . I also do not begrudge any club success - none whatsoever .

But as you have pointed out the Storm have no junior base and Roosters I believe a restricted one ( but that does not stop them from raiding other club’s junior teams ) .

To me that is a cardinal sin , those youngsters should have the opportunity of being graded into their respective senior clubs ( if they have the skills ) before any other team poaches them . Just so wrong , but that is what the situation is nowadays due to an ineffectual NRL body whose main focus is on the almighty $ dollar rather than the game itself .

But back to the Storm , does the NRL truly class them as a success due to the fact that they have won so many premierships ? Normally one would , however although they are an extremely well coached side that oozes class , why must they resort to the despicable tactics that has been part of their make-up ever since they have been in the game ?

The original idea of having a team based in Sin city ( and any new state ) was to get rugby league on the move in Victoria , but have they ? The only thing they have done is dismantle the game piece by piece ( with what appears to be the blessing of the games governing body ) until it is nothing but a mere shadow of what It once was .

 

[mickeylane]

Melbourne Storm, unfortunately the yard stick in this comp for the past 10 years
Well Coached
Well managed
Excellent recruitment (never buy superstars)
Their template is one to emulate not bag...every team rorts in one way or another ...just watching the Storm dismantle the rorters has nothing to do w cheating or anything else...they are just years ahead of any team...

 

[Dragon David]

Melbourne Storm, unfortunately the yard stick in this comp for the past 10 years
Well Coached
Well managed
Excellent recruitment (never buy superstars)
Their template is one to emulate not bag...every team rorts in one way or another ...just watching the Storm dismantle the rorters has nothing to do w cheating or anything else...they are just years ahead of any team...

Yes, you just cannot beat class and professionalism and a well run system. Like the Dragons were in the 50's and 60's when we dominated because we had the best, so too does the Storm in the past decades and future years. They may not have the juniors but they know who they need and they go after them and turn them into machines.

I just wish they were the Dragons.

 

[denis preston]

The biggest whinge should be from the Broncos and other QLD sides. The bloody storm has raided them bigtime.

 

[rasaint]

All good points but don’t forget that enjoy a reported $1 Million ( I think about $20k short) in 3rd party deals. Huge advantage.

 

[This Year?]

The Storm have become the Broncos. Yes they aren't a development club, but they can turn an average player into a great one. What they have done with unwanted players is nothing short of astounding.
I always take pride in us being a development club because there is one of our juniors in almost every club. No matter how our club is going or what our ladder position we are still what the spirit of rugby league is.

 

[boardlumps62]

We have the nursery and develop players only to see others sign them up you say. Well yes but we can't keep them all. If we identify a young gun we can give him a contract i suppose but will he necessarily be a top player by 19 or 20 yrs old.
Question is do we get any benefit from NRL for development? And what are the youth contracts anyway are they part of our cap.

 

[blacksafake]

Melbourne Storm, unfortunately the yard stick in this comp for the past 10 years
Well Coached
Well managed
Excellent recruitment (never buy superstars)
Their template is one to emulate not bag...every team rorts in one way or another ...just watching the Storm dismantle the rorters has nothing to do w cheating or anything else...they are just years ahead of any team...

The word to describe them is Professional.

 

[matPORTS]

The Melbourne Storm are the:
Manly Sea Eagles of the 'Fibros vs. Silvertails' era
Canberra Raiders of the late 80's / early 90's
Brisbane Broncos of the 90's / early naughties

What they have done in just the last couple of years managing the turnover of 'big three' is what astounds me. Year after year, fans of Sydney clubs in particular get on social media and comment about how they are looking forward to seeing the demise of the Storm - but that demise never seems to come.

Addo-Carr unwanted by the Tigers - goes to the Storm and becomes an overnight representative winger
Finucane unwanted by the Bulldogs - goes to the Storm and becomes one of the most sought after forwards in the game
Hines unwanted by the Sea Eagles - demonstrates his talent in the Storm system, name your price other clubs
Papenhauzen - ...
Hughes - ...
B Smith - ...
The Bromwich Brothers - ...
Asofa-Solomona - ...
Welch - ...

Can't begrudge their success. Simply better managed than all the other clubs in the comp.

Panthers are quickly coming up to the same level as the Storm through their own junior development, but the test will come in terms of how they manage the inevitable turnover of their roster. Hanging onto Matt Burton is probably going to save them from what could have been a disaster in losing Cleary to injury (even if it's only for 4-6 weeks) - but Burton is out the door come 1st November. Who steps up next? Same when Luai, Liam Martin, etc next come up for renewal commanding big pay days - who stays, who goes, how does that affect the depth through the junior system (Storm & Roosters don't have this dilemma - they just buy ready made).

 

[Dragonslayer]

Imo, if they were to introduce this type of player movement, then there would have to be 2 periods of whem this took place and each with a different scenario.

First one I would call a mid-season 'trade' (or call it what you will) period. This would happen during the weekend of SOO 2, where no team plays, say Friday & Saturday. These would be existing contracted players who wish to join another club eg: player x from the Broncos wants to join the Titans. It's then up to the Titans to want to enter into a trade with player x. If they don't, the player stays or can be sought from another club, it's up to player x then to enter into negotiations.

Second period, or 'draft' would happen after the GF, say 2 weeks after for an example. Youngsters under 20 would then nominate themselves to the draft, with (a) the knowledge they could end up anywhere, or (b) they would not be looked at and have to stay at their existing club.
After the "draft" of youngsters, then their would be an opportunity for 'older' players to nominate themselves, ie those over 20, maybe some KOE Cup type players looking for a chance, again points (a) & (b) apply.

I think the points here take away the problem of 'restraint' which dogged the last attempt at this type of system.

The biggest issue of the 'draft' is order of pick by clubs. The obvious answer is final ladder position (after the GF or regular season?), and what about 'new teams', are they entitled to first order picks (doesn't seem to help in the AFL)? Maybe an order lottery, similar to a Melb Cup draw could work, fate in your own hands, so to speak. This would avoid in some way clubs from 'tanking' in order to get higher picks. Those who finished say 9-16 (17 or 18), get 2 picks in the first 24 nominations, those clubs finishing 1-8 get 1. A club may also see a player in the over 20 draft and could trade a pick to secure him

If a player isnt 'drafted' they are still eligible to play JF etc for their existing club. They could nominate agsin the following year, if tgay are still under 20, or if they are over 20, nominate for mid-season or end of season the following year.

A hell of a lot of other scenarios and possibilities that would need to be addressed, but for basic start, these are just my thoughts.

 

[Puff]

So I sit here watching the Thursday night game played against the two heavyweight teams of the last 10 years (Storm v Roosters) and think to myself ....."how can two teams with absolutely no juniors continue to dominate the NRL, year after year after year"?

Are they brilliantly managed? Yes
Are they brilliantly coached? Yes
Do they have heavyweight corporate support? Yes

But surely having these two teams with no juniors being developed is not a healthy advertisement for the game?

I do not begrudge The Panthers one bit of their success. They are a club built on their junior base. Good for them.

Why is the NRL so intent on Melbourne having the dominant team year after year, after year, after year, after year?

I am so over The Storm. What have they given the NRL? Filthy wrestling tactics. Flagrant abuse of the salary cap. A soulless rubble. But supported by the NRL to the hilt. It is nauseating.

And what of the development club like The Dragons; who are admittedly administered by a crew who would make the administration of "The Office" look like Harvard Graduates?

Surely the NRL has to compensate the development clubs when the mercenary Storm, Roosters etc come knocking? Surely developing juniors (the lifeblood of the game) has to count for something?

I for one cannot wait until the demise of The Storm. My despised teams used to be The Eels, The Sea-Eagles, The Bulldogs and of course The Broncos and The Sharks. But are any of those sides remotely as offensive as The Storm?

I agree with everything.

However, making this post complete would be adding an extra question to the top part.

Have they Cheated the cap? Yes

Now you may think its sour grapes. No, however, this game is no longer about the coach, tactics etc. Its about Cap management. Now if I am totally honest, will the likes of the Storm and Broncos get busted for cap breaches without being dobbed in? NO

Now I believe teams should be able to cheat the cap if they are capable, however you implement a luxury tax system. Where if a team exceeds the cap, they then have a payment system to teams that finished lower tiering it in a bottom to top fashion. Because whilst its illegal you will always have teams cheating the cap, but never being caught unless a disgruntled ex employee comes forward. Or you have a situation where a team cheats the cap, wins the final, then the NRL fines them for every year they cheated, but suggests they were okay the year they won it. (I MEAN COMEON)

So the only way you get around it is by letting people do it freely in a system that doesn't make teams want to cheat and hide it.

If you combine that with a draft as well, supported by the Players association then you may have a comp that's even.

However, in its current state this competition is a joke. With the mouth pieces of the game suggesting year on year that its the most even comp they have seen. Building up to the situation we have now, where the top 4 are competitive and everyone else having no hope in hell.

 

[Dragon David]

I agree with everything.

However, making this post complete would be adding an extra question to the top part.

Have they Cheated the cap? Yes

Now you may think its sour grapes. No, however, this game is no longer about the coach, tactics etc. Its about Cap management. Now if I am totally honest, will the likes of the Storm and Broncos get busted for cap breaches without being dobbed in? NO

Now I believe teams should be able to cheat the cap if they are capable, however you implement a luxury tax system. Where if a team exceeds the cap, they then have a payment system to teams that finished lower tiering it in a bottom to top fashion. Because whilst its illegal you will always have teams cheating the cap, but never being caught unless a disgruntled ex employee comes forward. Or you have a situation where a team cheats the cap, wins the final, then the NRL fines them for every year they cheated, but suggests they were okay the year they won it. (I MEAN COMEON)

So the only way you get around it is by letting people do it freely in a system that doesn't make teams want to cheat and hide it.

If you combine that with a draft as well, supported by the Players association then you may have a comp that's even.

However, in its current state this competition is a joke. With the mouth pieces of the game suggesting year on year that its the most even comp they have seen. Building up to the situation we have now, where the top 4 are competitive and everyone else having no hope in hell.

Competing against the top 4 clubs to get a player is to me a waste of time for the easy beat clubs. Those top 4 clubs only need to ring a player and say how about coming to play for us and as soon as the phone is hung up they are off like the proverbial to sign on the dotted line and there is little chance of the media finding out until the paperwork is done and dusted as it happens so quickly particularly with the Storm.

The thing about the Storm is that they get players who can fit into their system and develop the way the Storm wants them to. They just know how to get the best out of a player and you cannot beat that. In this regard, having a combined salary cap/draft/points system might help marginally for the bottom teams but having a great coach, who is likely to be re-signed for another 3 years at top dollars, will keep the Storm in the top 4 for more years to come. Who knows, they could win 5 premierships in a row!?

We could have the cream of the crop but if the right systems are not in place the tenure at the top drops after being up there for a limited period. The Storm's system is such that they know how to maintain being always on top.

 

[Lethal25]

I'd rather see better management of the salary cap by the NRL than a draft. If the cap was partnered with a points system you could potentially limit the ability of clubs to stack teams

The success of the Storm dates back to when they joined the comp, only missing finals 3 times in 23 years and one of those they were banned. Minor premiers 8 times, top 4 on 15 occasions, 10 grand final appearances with 6 of those being wins. If you want to believe it's all down to how well they are run then good luck to you. I'm confident they do not and have not operated under the same conditions as the rest of the competition

 

[Dragon David]

Like us being unbeaten for 11 years running in grand finals, the Storm could do the same.

This will turn people well and truly off, unless you are a Storm fan.

I don't know what else any other club can do to prevent this. They will be in the top echelon for many years even when Bellamy retires is my view. Their success rate so far has been phenomenal.

 

[Jersey No 14]

Don't care - Going Skiiing!
F - THe Storm
Suck S Roosters
When I'm in front of a tele at then moment its NHL Finals
MotoGP Formula 1
Footy - Truck That
I've got my second novel to finish.
Those bitches at HQ should of thought about the variety of sports available before they started changing the rules
And
All those junior coaches should of learnt how to coach properly before they took the credit for unleaching this current crop of want-to-be's out.

Not too many years ago the writing was on the wall - with the Toyota Cup
The Titanic didn't sink immediately. But it sure did sink