Rugby league supremo Phil Gould has proposed a huge shake-up to the NRL’s transfer system in the wake of Jack Wighton’s shock South Sydney switch.
Three clubs — the Dolphins, Raiders and Rabbitohs — were in the race for Wighton’s signature and the gun playmaker took a salary worth $700,000 less than Canberra’ deal to land in Redfern.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart called out the NRL’s “flawed” contracting system and said the club did “everything possible to keep Jack”.
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“As a club, we believe the current contracting system where players can sign well out from the end of their current contract is flawed,” Stuart said in a statement.
Now Gould has called for changes to be made in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement being negotiated, instead of in the next CBA in five years time.
Currently players are free to negotiate with rivals in the final 12 months of their contract and the deadline sits on November 1.
Gould believes the NRL need to instead introduce trade windows and a draft system to spread talent evenly across the league.
Clubs such as the Raiders have historically found it difficult to recruit and retain star players, highlighted by Wighton’s big snub to take less money at a premiership heavyweight.
‘There’s work to be done there’ | 03:33
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“The Raiders are entitled to ask why, and the NRL is entitled, just for transparency to the fans, to say if a marquee player comes off contract at the Raiders, why is it they always end up at the Rabbitohs or the Roosters?” Gould said on the Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
“There are probably 10 to 12 other clubs out there who would love to have Jack Wighton, would love the opportunity to free up a million dollars in their salary cap and help them get out of the cellar.
“This comes back to what I’m going to say — draft, trade windows.
“The movement of players between NRL clubs has been flawed throughout history. We have never negotiated this back with the players’ association.
“We’ve done four or five CBAs in a row now and have never once tried to negotiate what is in the best long-term interests of the game, which is a draft system or at least trade windows.”
Rugby league pundits have previously suggested the NRL adopt a draft system and the AFL runs a successful program every season, allowing young talent to join clubs low on the ladder.
In the past clubs such as the Panthers have hit out at rival clubs for consistently poaching players from their junior system.
When the Dolphins signed young playmaker Isaiya Katoa coach Ivan Cleary said rivals were “treating our club like their backyard”.
Phins face Raiders after missing Wighton | 02:22
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“It has been well documented we have our challenges in terms of trying to keep this team together,” he said.
Therefore, clubs with a strong junior base will likely be opposed to a draft system — while Gould explained it is the “fairest” method of spreading out talent.
“The draft system is the fairest and the most transparent. We need to set our development system up for this,” Gould said.
“The whole system is wrong. All power is with the player agent and the negotiating player, there is nothing being given back to the game.
“(Drafts and trade windows) work in every other sport around the globe, but suddenly in rugby league we can’t? Our players won’t agree to that? That’s just total irresponsibility, it’s greedy.”
Gould also explained how a potential trade window could work, with players nominating their value ahead of time.
He believes if a player is asking for a $1 million salary, teams on the bottom of the ladder then are able to sign them on for their asking price — giving them first pick.
