Contractual ambiguity and confused fans could become a factor of the past with the NRL toying with the idea of implementing a post-season transfer window.
At the present, players within the final 12 months of their contract are free to agree to terms with rivals whilst still serving time for their current employers.
With this process long leaving those in the outer both vexed and dismayed, discussions between the game's administrators and the Rugby League Player's Association could well lead to a clear-cut future for both athletes and fans.
According to reports fromย The Sydney Morning Herald,ย said discussions between both parties are set to be held within wider conversations relating to a new collective bargaining agreement.
While it is reportedly the NRL's preference to scrap in-season transfers and only allow out-of-contract names to make moves at the cessation of each season's grand final, the RLPA is said to currently be opposed to the notion.
Speaking ahead of what will prove to be a game-shaping debate, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo outlined the view from within league HQ.
โThatโs all up for debate and I donโt know where we will land,โ Abdo expressed to theย Fairfaxย outlet.
โWeโve put forward natural opportunities to think about the window, particularly the main one being at the end of the season. Following the grand final, having then an opportunity for players, agents and clubs to engage and interact, and have everything done in the off-season is probably what clubs are after to give teams the ability to begin their pre-season knowing what their full squad is.โ
Given a single window would compress footballers' transfer options, Abdo also suggested that a mid-season period remained an "option".
โThereโs an option that says thereโs a single window, thereโs an option that says there are two windows, mid-season and at the end of the season," the league chief delineated.
โThereโs an option that says itโs end of season for the next season or end of season for the season after. All of these are different permutations that we will need to grapple with.โ
However, Abdo's counterpart at the table, RLPA chief executive Clint Newton, claimed the status quo was worth maintaining - citing differences between international sporting practices as proof.
โThe term commonly used in this debate is trade and transfer windows, but what we have is a fundamentally different system to US sports trades or European soccer transfers,โ Newton stated.
โThis debate is about proposing a much shorter window of time that players can secure their future. What weโre suggesting is that the NRL alter the current free agency policy. Free agency is very different to trade and transfer windows, and an end-of-season window in the NRL would significantly restrict players who donโt have a future contract from securing one."
The former Newcastle, Melbourne and Penrith representative went on to stress that although the league's free agency stipulations weren't widely agreed upon, they still served those with skin in the game.
โThe NRL has always valued the agency of players, and the competition has continued to prosper because of the long-standing position players have held on this workerโs right. We believe in the right of free agency and we want to create a fair and equitable system with that," Newton said in finality.
A specific date for debates to commence has not been publicly announced.