NRL draft: Player power standing in the way of fixing rugby league

The race for Payne Haas again shows why the NRL salary cap is just not working - and never will without a draft or a similar trade system like the AFL employs, writes Paul Crawley

The race for Payne Haas exposes why the NRL salary cap in its present state is just not working and why it never will without a draft or a similar trade system like the AFL employs.

Every time a decent NRL player comes off contract and puts himself on the open market he either shuffles between the top clubs or gets paid massive overs to go to one of the struggling clubs.

Right now the talk is Haas’ future will come down to a race between the Broncos and fellow powerhouses the Melbourne Storm and the Sydney Roosters.

When Haas’s situation was discussed on NRL 360 this week every member of the panel agreed the Broncos prop would be a tremendous acquisition if the Storm could fit him into their cap.

But it was Braith Anasta who brought up the elephant in the room: “My question is how do they afford Payne Haas?”

Everyone who was watching at home probably would have been asking the same question.

Given the Storm’s current roster includes Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes, Harry Grant, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona.

The scramble to sign Payne Haas is on. Picture: NRL Photos

It remains to be seen if Haas will even leave the Broncos.

But we all know if he does he is Buckleys to end up at a club like Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra, or even the Bulldogs — because they would have to pay him way above his reported $1m market price if they were to have any hope of luring him away from the Broncos.

It will be the same story with the likes of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and David Fifita if they choose to leave the Titans, or Jarome Luai at the Panthers, Tom Dearden at the Cowboys, Joey Manu at the Roosters, Bradman Best at the Knights and Ezra Mam at the Broncos when all will become free agents at the end of this season for 2025 if they put themselves on the open market.

Just go back to Jack Wighton’s decision to sign with South Sydney for next year for significantly less than the $4 million over four years Canberra was prepared to pay to keep its best player.

It meant nothing that the Raiders had developed Wighton from the time he was 16.

Wighton was still given the green light to take massive unders to go and join a star-studded roster that included Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Cameron Murray, Damien Cook, Campbell Graham, Jai Arrow and Keaon Koloamatangi.

And fans are expected to just swallow it.

Surely it’s time for the NRL to look for a better way to more evenly distribute the top end talent.

The Raiders offered Jack Wighton more money than South Sydney did but he’s still leaving. Picture: Getty Images

At least if there was a draft the bottom clubs would get first crack at the best young talent coming through.

That would then give them time to develop these players instead of always missing out on the blue chip talent, as well as the established stars.

It works in the NBA, NFL, major league baseball, and AFL.

But you talk to anyone involved at the coal face of the NRL and they will tell you that you are wasting your time even discussing a draft because the Rugby League Players Association will never allow it.

As it is we can’t even get an agreement with the CBA, so how in the hell would the NRL ever get a draft approved?

But that certainly doesn’t mean the status quo is in the game’s best interests.

Given Haas signed his first contract with the Broncos at the end of 2016, even if he was in the AFL he would be free to go on the open market at the end of next season as an unrestricted free agent after eight years’ service.

Is it time for the NRL to join major sporting comps like the NFL and bring in a draft? Picture: AFP

However, restricted free agents who have served less than eight years with one club and are in the top tier of salary cap earners can only go if their current club chooses not to match the offer.

Otherwise the clubs have to strike a deal which may include player swaps or giving up draft picks.

Everyone knows in a perfect world it would make perfect sense to implement a draft in conjunction with a salary cap because it would at least give the bottom clubs a genuine chance of picking themselves up off the canvas.

If we had a draft in 2016 it would have been the Newcastle Knights who would have had the No.1 draft pick and almost certainly they would have chosen Haas, and that would have been at market value. Not paying massive overs.

And this year if you were the Tigers, Dragons, or Bulldogs you would be eyeing off the best schoolboys coming through, and eagerly looking forward to the end-of-season draft.

As it is, even with the salary cap, it is just not a level playing field.

Originally published as NRL draft: Player power standing in the way of fixing rugby league