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NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo insists up to $1 million in salary cap relief to fund cross-code talent raids can be managed fairly across the competition as club CEOs question the devil in the detail of any potential exemptions.
As revealed by this masthead, next month’s ARL Commission board meeting will explore proposals around cap concessions for players to be sourced from alternative pathways, including South African and Argentinian rugby, as well as American college and NFL systems.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has flagged financial incentives for Wallabies to be targeted as well, as Roosters coach Trent Robinson and club boss Nick Politis met with off-contract Waratahs and Australian winger Mark Nawaqanitawase on Tuesday.
A preferred model for poached athletes could involve a percentage of their contracts being excluded from the salary cap, though several club CEOs, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the developing nature of the proposal, questioned the likely parameters involved.
Canberra CEO Don Furner urged the NRL to focus any salary cap relief on rewarding development clubs such as the Raiders and Panthers, beyond the current system that allows for “a couple of hundred thousand dollars” in cap concessions for producing juniors.
“I’ve been down this road before and we’ve had these rugby exemption-type discussions before,” Furner told this masthead.
“Personally, I believe the emphasis needs to be salary cap relief for developing and keeping your own juniors, the kids that play rugby league.
“Keep the focus and resources going into rugby league. For example, I imagine a team like Penrith would much prefer being able to hang onto their juniors rather than going out and trying to buy a Max Jorgensen or another rugby kid”.
Panthers football boss Matt Cameron confirmed Furner’s suspicion. “While it’s an interesting idea to be targeting players from other sports for a top 30 NRL spot, I think we’ve got more than enough talent in our own backyard,” he said.
Another Sydney-based club chief questioned what parameters would be used to define what constitutes a rugby player given most of the best young players in the 15-man game are contracted to NRL clubs in their teens already.
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan, Roosters coach Trent Robinson and rising star Joseph Suaalii.Credit:
Glamour Sydney clubs such as the Roosters and Rabbitohs have naturally fostered stronger rugby connections than many rivals given their development catchments, while the Warriors’ pathways are also intertwined with the code in rugby-mad New Zealand.
The Roosters especially have been at the forefront of escalating squabbles for talent between the codes, their interest in Nawaqanitawase coming after he pushed for a multi-year deal from Rugby Australia last season, only to be offered a 12-month extension.
A tug-of-war for rising Waratahs star, World Cup tourist and Roosters junior Max Jorgensen also looms for 2025 and beyond, while rugby’s pursuit of NRL stars Joseph Suaalii and Angus Crichton occupied plenty of column inches in the past six months.
Abdo has no appetite to revive the famed marquee player “war chest” of predecessor Dave Smith to attract athletes, or, with a nod to rugby-bound Suaalii, encourage some to “return to league from other codes”.
Mark Nawaqanitawase scores a try against France.Credit: Getty
“It won’t be a free-for-all,” Abdo said when asked how a relief system could be kept from undermining the salary cap. “It will be delicate, and it will be about making sure there’s an opportunity for all clubs on an equal basis to have one or two potential talented players that they recruit, potentially from other codes around the world.
“It’ll be carefully considered, though, because we do want to make sure that we focus on our pathways, and we also want to maintain competitive balance.
“Our primary focus is developing rugby league talent through our own pathways, we’re also open to attracting and potentially in some cases returning to league from other codes.
“Any change the Commission might make to that policy will have to be very carefully considered, and there will be parameters and caps.”
In response to the threat of rugby league raids, Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh said the 15-man game needed to restore trust with players, who he acknowledged may be disillusioned and looking at other options after Australia’s disastrous World Cup campaign and Eddie Jones’s abrupt departure.
Waugh made his comments at a press conference to announce Rugby Australia’s historic “integration” with the NSW Waratahs, which is designed to be the first step in all states joining together under a national high-performance structure.
“We’ve lost a lot of trust with the playing group,” Waugh said. “The experience that they had this year with the Wallabies at the World Cup, compared to, I guess what they would have envisaged going into the World Cup might have been very different.
“So it’s really important for us to build a system that’s attractive for them to be a part of. With the runway we have, and I know it’s not far away, with the British and Irish Lions in ’25 and World Cup in ’27. It should be pretty exciting for them to stand up and be a part of it.”
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