Trade windows will do nothing to remove the speculation and interest in NRL player movement, including where Lachlan Galvin might play in 2027, according to Rugby League Players Association boss Clint Newton.
Three of the biggest stories of the season have featured Dylan Brown’s big-money move to Newcastle, where Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans lands next season, and now Galvin’s future beyond 2026.
Clubs and some coaches, including Wayne Bennett, believe a dedicated trade window, or even two, during the year will stop the obsession with retention and recruitment.
Bennett said in the week Cherry-Evans and Manly made headlines: “We’ve hit the self-destruct button four weeks into a football season. The silliness of us as a game, how we allow that to happen. It does nothing for the game. It’s wrong, and I wish we’d fix it. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”
But the RLPA is not sold on trade windows, not only because it prevented players from brokering a deal in their own time – and clubs from rebuilding their roster strategically throughout the year – but because the speculation would not stop.
Why trade windows will do nothing to stop public spats like the one involving Wests Tigers and Lachie Galvin.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“There’s no perfect model, but trade windows will not remove the speculation,” Newton said.
“Media and fans will always have an appetite for what players their club will keep and which players they are chasing. The media cycle is 24/7, and people click on that news.
“It’s not Lachie’s fault that we’re talking about what he might do in 2027.
“The Tigers decided to make that announcement yesterday, not Lachie. The window is irrelevant to this issue, Lachie has simply said he’s not re-signing at the end of 2026, people are conflating the two.
“Maybe there’s a world we live in one day where the NRL enforces clubs to not comment on announcements before a certain date, but for every player that chooses not to re-sign with their club, which remains their right – just like a club can choose not to re-sign a player – we can show you another 20 players where despite having years to run on their contract, the club requests they look elsewhere, and they are no longer in their plans. ”
Players in trade windows would be forced to uproot their families at short notice, but Newton said players already did that, and “it’s not even on the podium” when it comes to a reason they will not support it.
Newton said one solution would be to try and limit the amount of public commentary from clubs and agents and stated the two biggest issues for clubs were fixed during the CBA negotiations – young players being signed before the incumbent had a chance to watch them at senior level before rival clubs poached them, and rival clubs talking to player agents before the last year of their contract.
Galvin risked being booed by his own fans on Easter Monday had he not been dropped by the Tigers for their clash with Parramatta. In what could have been a first, the two starting five-eighths – Galvin and Newcastle-bound Dylan Brown – risked being jeered by their own supporters.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin new
