‘Inevitable’: Storm CEO Justin Rodski makes huge call on NRL player draft
A major change which would alter the NRL forever has been declared “inevitable” despite complications over how it would work.
Melbourne Storm CEO Justin Rodski has declared an NRL draft is “inevitable” amid a renewed push for the NRL to introduce a rookie draft model.
The case for a draft system is not new, and it is one that the league has attempted to implement for several decades.
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And while there would be a plethora of challenges in attempting to resuscitate it, Rodski says the prospect of a draft is gaining momentum and believes it will eventually occur.
“I think in principle, the broader NRL industry would like to have a draft,” Rodski said on SEN’s The Captain’s Run.
“But because the system is now so inherent in its pathways and the programs that are in place, the zoning.
“The way that the clubs and the NRL have worked over the last 30, 40, 50 years around player pathways and development, it would be very difficult to change that now.
“Not saying that it’s impossible because, of course, you could do it, and I think there is every chance that the NRLW will end up moving to a draft prior to the NRL itself.
“But it would take a lot of change, in a lot of areas that would significantly impact a lot of clubs in a way that … the development and pathways systems that have been put in place.
“(But) I think it is inevitable at some point that the draft comes in.”
How would an NRL Draft potentially work?
With every NRL club’s pathway systems in place already, it would be tough to conduct a ‘player draft’ given that so many players are already affiliated with particular teams.
The most likely way it would work is an external player draft, where young players with no professional history in the NRL would be able to be selected.
Another option would be a more expanded draft model that would include those already in the NRL ecosystem who come off-contract and who cannot reach a new agreement with their current club.
Either way, similarly to the NBA and NFL, those teams that perform poorly would get higher draft picks.
Along with the salary cap, it is one of the most common levellers in professional sport that helps produce an even and competitive competition.
With the worst-performing teams getting the first picks of the next crop of new talent, they could theoretically improve to become title contenders in a matter of years, similar to what the Oklahoma City Thunder did in the NBA last season.
Draft picks can also be used in trade deals between clubs, allowing one team to offload a future pick on a top talent for a more proven veteran player that could help the team straight away.
A draft system would also make something like the Panthers winning four straight premierships even more unlikely.
However, while that is all well and good in theory and arguably helps produce a better product, where all franchises can compete on a more equal playing field, it is a logistical nightmare to pull it off as it stands.
That’s because a traditional rookie external draft in rugby league is virtually impossible.
That is, unless the players themselves, and their representative Rugby League Players Association, agree to it, which is unlikely.
However, an external player draft, potentially of players abroad or unaffiliated, could be a viable option in the years to come.
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Originally published as ‘Inevitable’: Storm CEO Justin Rodski makes huge call on NRL player draft
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