Phil Gould calls for an Internal NRL draft

Newtown

Well-known member
Phil Gould calls for an internal NRL draft

wwos
By Phil Gould
2 hours ago

Many of our current day NRL players are simply not worth the ridiculous amounts of money that we see quoted in newspaper columns every day.

Now, I understand that life is not about what you are worth, it’s about what you can negotiate. If players can find a club desperate enough to pay these amounts of money, then good luck to them. But the current system is wrong, and I believe highly damaging to the future of our code.

I’d be surprised if fans aren’t totally fed up with all this talk of player movement. We read of clubs being stripped of their stars, weaker clubs losing out to the bigger clubs in the battle to sign marquee talent, and even suggestions that players will ask for a release from their current club only six weeks into this year’s competition, to join another NRL team.

Can anyone seriously argue that this is good for our game?

One of the big problems with rugby league today, is that because there are absolutely no controls on player movement between NRL clubs, some player managers simply play the current system to hold clubs to ransom.

Most of the older player managers who’ve been around a while, are quite reasonable. They have a care for the game and a respect for the clubs. They obviously have an important role to play in the finances and general well-being of their clients, however, they understand the importance of stability and the benefits that can be gained by having their client in a settled environment with good people around him.

For others, it’s simply a game of trying to extract the most amount of money, every time a contract is coming up for renewal.

The other problem with unrestricted player movement between NRL clubs is that it’s too easy for the bigger, stronger clubs to attract the most elite talent. For example, if Cronulla’s Jack Bird has a choice between going to the Brisbane Broncos, or the Newcastle Knights, you don’t have to be a genius to work out how that’s going to end. There should be a system in place that gives the team at the bottom of the competition ladder, whoever it may be, first option at securing one of the current off-contract stars.

Yes, I’m talking about and Internal Draft System to regulate the movement of NRL players between NRL clubs. The player draft should be held once a year. It would be a massive event. It solves so many of the problems we have in our game around salary caps and player movement.

Other codes throughout this country and around the world seem to be able to deal with having a player draft. Good old “rugby league” has found a way to avoid it

As it stands, if struggling clubs are to be successful in attracting a top-line player, they need to pay a huge premium to get that player to come to their club, which then totally distorts player market values.

The current system is just too messy for words. It is a total distraction for everybody in the game.

All this talk about footballers being worth $1 million a year under the new salary cap is ridiculous.

Firstly, I don’t see any million-dollar footballers in the NRL today.

Secondly, to pay even one player, in a 30-man playing roster, this extraordinary amount of money, would have significant ramifications on the management of your salary cap and the wages you would have to pay other key members of your squad.

There is a lot of water to flow under the bridge in the negotiation between the NRL and the Rugby League Players Association to determine a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. I don’t want to waste anybody’s time speaking about the NRL’s first offer of a salary cap level for season 2018 and beyond. We will talk more about this another time.

However, I just want to get back to this notion of the “million-dollar footballer”. I don’t see any million-dollar footballers in the game today. No individual should be earning $1 million out of this fixed-wage salary cap.

There are several players who could earn a lot more than $1 million, thanks to sponsorships, personal business ventures, media deals and third-party corporate contributions. But no player in the game today, should be getting $1 million out of the fixed salary cap, especially if the cap ends up being only $8.3m, as the NRL proposes.

Now, just for clarification, four years ago I offered the great Jonathan Thurston $1.2m a season to come and play at the Panthers. I felt the money was justified. He was worth it. He was at the top of his game. At that stage of his career Jonathan was still steering the Australian Test Team and Queensland State of Origin team to victories. Shortly after this time he led the North Queensland Cowboys to premiership success. When I made this offer, I was not trying to win a premiership with this one purchase. I was merely hoping for Jonathan to come and teach our young players how to play, and inspire our youth through his extraordinary leadership and work ethic. I also felt that his profile would be wonderful for the promotion of our sport in Western Sydney given we were facing stiff competition from other codes. Jonathan Thurston would be the perfect role model for all young kids in our area. I believe he would become an inspiration for these kids to play and fall in love with our game of rugby league.

I was so confident of the things that he could do for our club both on and off the field, that I was prepared to list him in our salary cap at $1.2 million. If Jonathan accepted that deal he would be playing his last year with the Panthers in 2017.

In a fixed salary cap of $8.3m as proposed, I don’t think Jonathan Thurston is worth $1m. He is approaching 34 years of age, and whilst many in the media will romance that he is playing in the best form of his career, the fact remains he is not doing the same things he was doing five seasons ago. He is approaching the end of his career. He could command significant sponsorship dollars outside the salary cap through third-party arrangements, but from the fixed wage pool of the salary cap, I would only value him at around the $700,000 figure. Today, Jonathan needs quality players around him.

Now, if Thurston is not a million-dollar footballer, then I suggest no other player in the game today is worth a million dollars a season in the salary cap.

For me, $1 million footballer, would have to be winning somewhere between 60-70% of the games he plays. He would also have to be a significant contributor to that winning percentage.

The players today that the media tout as million-dollar footballers fall well short of these criteria.

In an $8.3 million salary cap, which must be spread across 30 players, with a proposed minimum wage of $100,000, I say there is no player currently in the game today who could command $1 million a season out of this figure.

Even if the salary cap was to increase to the more realistic and sensible figure of $10 million, (which almost everyone expected it to do after the latest broadcast rights deal), I still can’t see where any individual in our game today commands a million-dollar salary out of that 30-man wage pool.

There are so many other things I could talk about when negotiating contracts for players at certain stages of their development. The management of the salary cap is extremely difficult and every single day, every club in the NRL would be addressing their salary cap for this year and planning for future years.

I can tell you that players reading about other players commanding $1 million a season, doesn’t help at all.

You may have a differing opinion. However, when you are trying to manage a 30-man playing roster for both the short and long term future of your club, I humbly suggest that paying someone $1m out of the salary cap will do you more harm than good.
 
Gould has a opinion on every thing in the NRL, but you can't disagree with him on the above article. The greed of both the player managers and the players will eventually kill the goose that laid the golden egg. What do you think the TV rights will be worth when it is a four team comp and the other teams have all gone belly up and how many unemployed footballers will there be.

Not sure what the answer is and what system will rectify the problem but something has to be done. I guess they could start with introducing a system where a club is paid compensation for any junior footballer poached by another club.

Anyway the last few months of reading nothing but the big 4 has left me feeling pretty pi..ed off with the game, the players and especially the grubs who represent the players
 
He's been talking about the draft for years tbh.
I doubt it'll ever happen, and I don't think it's the best case scenario anyway - but it's definitely a better system than the current dog's breakfast.
 
Maybe player managers should no longer be private, but employees of the NRL or players association that do bargaining on behalf of their clients for no commission, just a fixed yearly salary. Remove the personal greed and they're just bureaucrats
 
If the present system which is allowing the $$$$ worth of a player to snowball way out of proportion I doubt that some clubs such as Wests Tigers would, in the not too distant future, be comfortable about their chances of continuing to survive in the NRL The current situation which also promotes the demon TPAs encourages a "rich clubs get richer, poor clubs get poorer situation". It also allows for a 22 year old underachieving "me generation" player to make an ass of the current NRL situation by requesting an immediate transfer only 6 weeks into the competition and leaving the club which developed him in serious tatters.
 
I have to agree with Gould re the million dollar player,with an 8.3 million dollar cap and 30 player squad to pay,you would think that some will get the big dollars and the rest get crumbs…
Just think for a minute that the team all go out there and play to their best win lose or draw they get their pay,but the blokes getting the crumbs is putting his body on the line and the big dollar earner is having a terrible game,how would they feel...it has to be a level playing field and at the moment it is far from that,and I do understand that you have marquee players,but they can't win on their own without the other players on the field with them..instead of a cap on the whole salary they should put a cap on how much a marquee player can earn in the NRL,say for example 800 k is top money you can earn as a marquee player,if for example I went for a job and I was good at it in a field with good opposition and my employer told me I have the job for 200 k a year that's top money for the job and the opposition was paying exactly the same,I would take it,as going elsewhere the position was taken at the same money...if I didn't like it I would be out of a job or in another occupation...just another angle on the situation because I don't really understand how the draft works...
 
He is on the money , can't dispute this Article at all .

Players must get paid from Journos for them to print the rubbish figures that are printed every Day . Pascoe said to Hooper that the Figures being printed for Moses were false and Hooper wants to be a smart arse and tell Pascoe what the figures actually were .
These journos are the virus that is ruining our game aswell.
 
@ said:
Maybe player managers should no longer be private, but employees of the NRL or players association that do bargaining on behalf of their clients for no commission, just a fixed yearly salary. Remove the personal greed and they're just bureaucrats

Ive been thinking about this option for a while. They should be independently hired by the NRL to be a link betwewn clubs and player's with mo benefit to them no matter what the player signs his contract for. I truly believe this whole saga at the tiger's originates at Isaac Moses and his own little agenda.
 
I'll try again …..

Gus is one of the greatest minds in the game

I still have my concerns that you don't know when he is writing an article as a football lover or an article as a CEO of a rugby league club

I'm guessing from his comments he may have spent closer to 10 million than 8.3 million

We have a far easier solution in my opinion , once the GF is finished clubs and players start negotiating contracts

And we totally ignore the claims from the RLPA that it won't work because it will take too long to get settled , that is a load of garbage

Look at Major League baseball , you walk into the dressing room after a game or training session and the manager taps you on the shoulder and tells you that you have been traded off to Bumfluff ,Idaho and you start tomorrow

Easy solution , no mid season garbage going on , just rugby league

Or we have a recognized trade window between Game 1-3 in SOO

Both easy solutions in my opinion
 
I think the DRAFT would be DAFT.

To start, I would be quite concerned with players like Moses Suli and similar 18 year olds being put in a draft and say for example, your going to North Queensland or Melbourne. These kids would have to leave, in all probability family and friends and go and fend for themselves in some distant city. We have all seen how some of these kids react to the pressure put on them and put on them, by themselves - we could end up with a few more topping themselves.

On the upper age scale forcing families with children to change states etc. is not a great idea either - forcing kids to change schools, interrupting continuity of studies, forcing wives to change jobs and selling houses in Sydney and then trying to buy back in, when the draft after, for example has you going to the Dogs (literally you probably would be). Good luck with that as everyone is not a marquee player, e.g. if it happened to Jessie Sue.

I would also be against having a draft and drawing someone like Lodge or Packer - the club is better than having these players forced on them.

The NRL just need to get tough on this whole system - one or two transfer windows, no TPA's, all payments declared under the salary cap. The books need to be checked regularly, thoroughly and search for brown paper bags. Some will get away with bits and pieces but it would be better than what we have now. I mean really tighten it up not pretend.

Compensation for producing juniors and loyal club players is a must. If inner city clubs like the Roosters, Souffs etc. cannot produce juniors then they need to merge or go to Perth or another area. Lets not get sentimental over old teams - there wasn't any over Balmain and Western Suburbs or indeed Newtown and Norths.

I don't think one can put a sealing on players whether marquee or not - wouldn't that be a restriction of trade?

There is plenty of work to be done by the NRL - trouble is I don't think people at the top of he NRL are capable of running a convenience store let alone the "Greatest Game of All."
 
Agree happy - Gus defo has some ulterior motives in a lot that he says publicly, and I don't think this is any different.
Doesn't make him any less correct though.

I've noticed a lot of public sentiment against this sort of stuff recently - only the News Ltd journos in favour of the status quo. I wonder why?
Andrew Webster and Paul Kent argued about it for 10 mins on NRL 360 last night. #teamwebster
 
@ said:
I think the DRAFT would be DAFT.

To start, I would be quite concerned with players like Moses Suli and similar 18 year olds being put in a draft and say for example, your going to North Queensland or Melbourne. These kids would have to leave, in all probability family and friends and go and fend for themselves in some distant city. We have all seen how some of these kids react to the pressure put on them and put on them, by themselves - we could end up with a few more topping themselves.

On the upper age scale forcing families with children to change states etc. is not a great idea either - forcing kids to change schools, interrupting continuity of studies, forcing wives to change jobs and selling houses in Sydney and then trying to buy back in, when the draft after, for example has you going to the Dogs (literally you probably would be). Good luck with that as everyone is not a marquee player, e.g. if it happened to Jessie Sue.

I would also be against having a draft and drawing someone like Lodge or Packer - the club is better than having these players forced on them.

The NRL just need to get tough on this whole system - one or two transfer windows, no TPA's, all payments declared under the salary cap. The books need to be checked regularly, thoroughly and search for brown paper bags. Some will get away with bits and pieces but it would be better than what we have now. I mean really tighten it up not pretend.

Compensation for producing juniors and loyal club players is a must. If inner city clubs like the Roosters, Souffs etc. cannot produce juniors then they need to merge or go to Perth or another area. Lets not get sentimental over old teams - there wasn't any over Balmain and Western Suburbs or indeed Newtown and Norths.

I don't think one can put a sealing on players whether marquee or not - wouldn't that be a restriction of trade?

There is plenty of work to be done by the NRL - trouble is I don't think people at the top of he NRL are capable of running a convenience store let alone the "Greatest Game of All."

Russell, I get the impression from your comments that you think the draft is like a ballot and teams draw the players, it doesn’t work like that. Sides get draft picks determined by their finishing position (example team 16 gets pick 1, team 15 gets pick 2 etc) and select from the players available in the draft when it’s their turn to pick, sides don’t get players forced upon them.

Also there is usually a trade period prior to the draft where clubs can either trade players for either another player or players or even trade a player for one of their opponents draft picks.

Also established off contract players only enter the draft if either their current club doesn’t resign them, they want to leave their current club or want to test the market for more than their current club has offered.
 
An example of how it works is if Tedesco wants to go to the Roosters the Tigers can trade him during the trade period for what they want from the Roosters, either another player or players from them or one of their trade picks. If the two parties can’t come to an agreement on a trade Tedesco would either have to re-sign with the Tigers or take his chances on which club gets him in the draft and unless the Roosters finish near the bottom they would have little chance of getting him.
 
I admit I could be off on a couple of points.

I assume PP Magpie, seeing as we do not have a draft - you are basing your rules / layout of a draft on the AFL or some other system that is currently in place.

Question: If a player is nit signed by their current club and are put up for the draft and as an example Suli again and North Queensland select him as their pick …. can he refuse and go back in the draft or does he have to go? Or is the alternative to leave the NRL?

AS you explained it in previous post - I don't think I am in favor of any system where you can't choose who you want / or not want to go to.
 
Once you are in the draft you go to whoever picks you, however you can re-sign with your current club anytime before the draft, though he would have an idea who he might get picked up by as it is known the order of the clubs picks and who is likely to pick you, he can then elect to re-sign rather than take the risk of going interstate. With juniors it is favourable to rural kids who don’t have an affiliated NRL club.
 
AFL definitely has one over NRL when it comes to player movements between clubs.

Unfortunately the idea of a draft was defeated in court all those years ago (restraint of trade and other things which I don't recall). There is also the misunderstanding of how it could/should work.

Whilst Gus seemingly may have ulterior motives in his article he is right on this one.

I for one am so annoyed at how the situation with 'the big 4' has played out. We should be focussing on the game rather than player movements in the regular season.
 
I sense a touch of panic in Gus…8.3M cap is not going to suffice when he has already spent 10M

Wests Tigers will help you out Gus..Merrin Latu Cleary and Peachy will do...
 
Back
Top