NRL chief executive officer Andrew Abdo has revealed one ‘major issue’ behind the organisation’s current contract system after Canberra coach Ricky Stuart referred to it as “flawed” twice this week.
The contracting process – where a player can sign for an opposition side 12 months before they officially move – has come under fire due to Jack Wighton’s decision to join Souths.
In recent years, Viliame Kikau was also pictured in a Canterbury Bulldogs polo the season before he joined the club, while Broncos stars Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler recently signed with cross-town rivals the Dolphins for next season.
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As part of the collective bargaining agreement between the NRL and RLPA, Abdo confirmed the contracting system has been a point of discussion.
“I felt for Jack this week and of course the Raiders fans and Ricky, you saw the emotion in the week and that’s clearly one of the issues we’ve been talking to the RLPA about, the negotiation and the contracting period for players,” he said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“I understand both sides, players obviously want to think about their long-term future and want the ability to do that as early as possible but in a professional sport … we need to think about systems and processes to avoid seeing a player having to announce very early on where they’re going because it puts them under a lot of pressure and the fans don’t like it.”
Stuart tears up over Wighton departure
Abdo went on to state the approach towards the situation needs to be ‘multi faceted’ in regards to contracting and negotiating.
One discussion point around the contracting system is the players needing ample time to prepare for a move, particularly those with families.
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Abdo confirmed that is a reason behind the current process.
”I understand that as a player you have a limited playing career and you want to try and maximise the certainty that you can get … so yes that is a major issue,” he said.
“(We’re) looking at tenure so that more senior players have a longer period of time to negotiate and contract and perhaps more junior players having a later window.”
Much like the AFL, NBA and NFL systems, a draft has been proposed as a way to combat the current issues.
Rugby league expert Phil Gould has been strong on his preference for a draft, criticising the current system on Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
“The movement of players between NRL clubs has been flawed throughout history. We have never negotiated this back with the players’ association,” he said.
“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.”
Gould’s solution to ‘flawed’ system
Abdo believes a draft would be a ‘long-term’ solution instead of a short term area, considering many NSW based clubs have teams in pathway competitions like Harold Matthews and SG Ball.
“We’ve been primarily focused on a transfer window and a contracting model, a draft is a complex matter, that’s more of a long-term issue because a draft only really works when you have a centralisation of pathway development,” he said.
“The way our game structurally is at the moment, a draft doesn’t work, we would need to change how pathways happen because you have some clubs structurally based on where they’re located, investing significantly in pathway programs and others not so much.
“We need the right model for our game and a draft I think is something we can work towards long term not right now in the short term.”
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