When it comes to the NRL, the draft system sounds just like another easily dismissible structure that wouldn’t work in practice. And yet, every now and then you’ll see a former player or coach bring it up on some TV or radio show and suddenly everyone gets talking again.

The draft system essentially aims to centralise the pool of promising youth players our game has to offer. Rather than teams like Penrith having the advantage of a huge pool of youth players, each team would annually pick from all youth players available who want a crack at the NRL.

Now, all that sounds like a decent idea in theory, but it seems like something that wouldn’t work in practice. In fact, history tells us it wouldn’t work in practice. In 1991 the NSWRL trialled a draft system for a year, before it was voted down by players and coaches who opposed its limitations.

But maybe it could work...

Imagine a system where state cup clubs played in a wholly separate competition to the NRL. No more feeder clubs, no more links between Easts and Norths, Cronulla and Newtown… all that is to be severed and a new competition formed.

Clubs such as Newtown, Norths, Redcliffe and the Hunters would play in their own competition, similar to the College Football competition found in American football. These clubs would be given the role of youth development, recruiting and developing players until they’re drafted away by an NRL club.

This would give fans of the old traditional clubs something to cheer about, something to support. College Football crowds are amongst the biggest in world sport, and there’s no reason to assume that this new competition wouldn’t succeed in the Australian market.

With these clubs becoming their own entity again, it also gives them a chance to prove to the NRL that they’re financially stable, and could potentially be candidates for NRL expansion. Additionally, it allows for clubs to be established in places like Perth and Wellington, without the pressures of having to field an NRL-quality roster every week.

Players coming up through junior clubs or high schools would sign a deal with one of these clubs, and play exclusively for that club for the duration of their contract. This means that instead of the club’s rosters being filled with players going in and out of first grade every week, they would have a concrete lineup of players committed to the jersey.

Upon the expiration of a player’s contract, he could choose to sign another deal to play with whatever team in the youth league, or make himself available for the draft. This would place him and whatever other players who take up the draft option in a pool of players to be picked by NRL clubs during the preseason.

Clubs who finish in the bottom four would be randomized to find the order of the first four picks. The same would happen for clubs 12-9, 8-5 and 1-4. This randomizing occurs to prevent teams from deliberately losing games when they have nothing to play for to get a higher pick in the draft.

Then, comes the big night. The NRL would host an NFL Draft-style event where clubs submit their player choices, cycling through the order of clubs until the pool of youth players is exhausted. These would make up the incoming players for all the NRL rosters that season, as well as obviously any players signed between NRL and Super League clubs.

NRL clubs would be permitted to sign existing players from each other in the same system we have today, but would not be allowed to sign players directly from the youth league. The only pathway for a younger player into the NRL would be through the draft.

However, one of the main issues with this system would be the disbanding of the state cups. Therefore, there is no lower-grade system in place for NRL rosters, with the youth competition already acting as the nurturer of talent. The NRL clubs would become single-grade entities, similar to the clubs in the NFL.

Instead, the youth competition clubs would have a grade system. Players who don’t quite crack the starting side and are at a level similar to that of the existing Jersey Flegg, can get game time in these lower youth grades.

In case of an injury to an NRL player, the only solution would be that clubs receive the right to temporarily select a player from the youth league to draft into their squad until the NRL player is deemed fit to play once again.

This system would eliminate the advantage that heartland clubs have of massive fanbases to recruit players from, and would create a more even competition by providing the lowest-placed teams from last season with the best youth players available.

At the moment, this really is nothing but a concept. No discussions are taking place to implement a draft system and in reality, our game has more pressing issues. Nonetheless, its an interesting concept to think about.

Do you think a draft system could work in the NRL? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Would it just be a repeat of the 1991 trial? Or could this structure genuinely be the future of the game we all love?

15 COMMENTS

  2. So what’s the incentive for the Likes of Penrith, Newcastle, West’s , Cronulla, St.George & especially Brisbane to spend a lot of money in their junior areas, with a draft system? True, other clubs come in & steal many good juniors away anyway. Though this gives the likes of the feather dusters even less reason to try & buy good junior players from other areas & spend any time on them at all.
    So the clubs with decent junior systems should spend up big in their areas on their juniors, only for them all to go into a draft?

  3. Draft wouldn’t work. The best young talent even at 15/16 gets signed to NRL teams. Why would they play for lets say Newton and go into a stupid draft and then have to play on the worst team in the comp. Instead they sign deals early bypass the draft. The difference between the NFL and NRL in terms of talent and young players coming through is you can’t play NFL straight from high school cause your to small and stuff in the NRL you can play while at high school

  4. How about going another way & forcing teams to pay a transfer fee to buy players , that are one clubs local juniors.
    If they are in one areas junior rep teams, $10,000 transfer fee. Up until Jersey Flegg, then it’s $30,000. $40,000 from Canterbury Cup players & $50,000 at least for a first grader. Real incentives there to get off your butt & build up your own junior areas.

  5. Interesting article but….. Years ago the high court ruled that drafts and transfer fees etc were an illegal restraint of trade. (Denis Tutty) These only exist in AFL because the clubs and players association agreed to let them exist as a “gentlemens agreement” When you look at the strokes that Rugby League clubs pull as far as player payments and poaching outside the recruitment window goes especially inducing players to break contracts and clubs telling players to look elsewhere while they still have a valid contract goes a draft system appears to have no hope of getting off the ground let alone last for any length of time. It’s a great idea but the self cannabilising nature of RL doesn’t lend itself to success. I also note you don’t include a foundation club Balmain in your list of clubs. Balmain despite its extreme financial woes would be a huge beneficiary of a draft system allowing it to get back on its feet and exist at least at the same level as Norths and Newton etc.

  6. Juniors playing for a team like Newton are not going to get the same coaching and development work that a Jnr going through say the Storm system. Look at the youngsters they have brought into 1st grade this season – all seasoned professionals. A draft system would hold kids back rather than give them opportunities.

    I do like the idea of a transfer fee to compensate clubs. Should only apply to contracted players. No restraint of trade would exist since player signed a contract.

  9. Hey FrankOfWoodPulp.
    Did I say pay a transfer fee for players playing for Minchinbury only? Don’t think so.. I said for players who are in the junior rep teams & so on. Players who are real local juniors & that the club their coming through has put a lot of time, money , effort into.
    I know you wouldn’t like that idea, as those players in the Junior Rep Teams are usually the best players from that area. Not always, but they are for the most part. Which would mean the teams that love to steal the best juniors away, would actually have to pay out a bit more to do it! Why shouldn’t they?
    If a player wants to come through a good junior rep system at Penrith, Newcastle, Cronulla or wherever else. He is getting training, coaching, recognition & opportunity to be seen more widely. I don’t care if his favourite team is Wigan, Cowboys or whoever else. The effort put in the junior rep teams that he plays for should have recognition. A Transfer fee is a small payment back & recognition for the effort put in by all concerned.
    Oh, it wouldn’t have any affect on JWH leaving the Dusters at all. As he is a New Zealander leaving his third club? So no one would be paying extra for him. Nothing to see there buddy!!!👍

  10. Another big problem with that proposal is that NRL teams would still need around 30 players on their rosters to cover injuries, suspension, etc. and with no feeder club, nearly half of them would not be playing in any given week (and possibly for weeks on end) and not being match fit when they are called upon. No way the clubs would go for it.

  11. FrankSpencer, JWH is a thug, and it is only media gossip with regards to Ivan’s pay. Also the roosters do not produce their own, they poach.

  12. JWH is old & often injured. No team would pay a transfer fee for him now. So I guess the French Dressed Chickens would be stuck with him? They’d have to release someone to make others believe that they actually work with a cap?
    Given Penrith’s team is just about filled with players that came through the Penrith system. It would not be too expensive for them. No matter what way you tried to make up a transfer fee system, it wouldn’t cost them much right now.
    However, looks pretty expensive for your team. Especially when they go around buying a lot of the best players.
    My suggestion is a way of forcing teams to try & develope their own players, juniors. Most supporters of teams with a half decent junior system of their own. Would agree with me. 👍

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