Darren Lockyer: Players under 18 should be allowed to play first grade on a case-by-case basis
A lot of young guns weren’t scarred by the experience of playing first grade at 17 and Darren Lockyer thinks Souths should at least have the capacity to make a submission to the NRL concerning Joseph Suaalii.
Opinion
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The tug of war between rugby league and Australian rugby for the signature of Rabbitohs rookie Joseph Suaalii has raised an interesting debate as to whether the NRL should allow rookies to play first grade before the age of 18.
Personally, I don’t have an issue with Joseph Suaalii playing NRL at 17 next season.
I think the NRL should relax the age-restriction rule – currently banning players from first grade until their 18th birthday – to allow clubs to make an application on a case-by-case basis.
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For me, it’s not so much about bending rules to keep players in rugby league as much as adopting a merit-based analysis of whether a teenager like Suaalii is ready for the physical and mental demands of playing NRL.
South Sydney should have the capacity to make a submission to the NRL and then a specially-convened panel can decide whether or not Suaalii gets the green light to play first grade before the age of 18.
If you look at the game historically, a lot of young guns weren’t scarred by the experience of playing first grade at 17.
Guys like Brad Fittler, Israel Folau, Arthur Beetson and Justin Hodges all played first grade before their 18th birthday and all four went on to have outstanding careers.
That quartet are evidence that if you are good enough, you are indeed old enough.
From a developmental point of view, the first-grade environment is actually far safer place mentally for emerging young players than other grassroots avenues, such as the now-defunct under-20s system.
The under-20s competition was scrapped in 2017, mainly due to the huge cost of funding for NRL clubs, but there were other considerations, such as the welfare component.
We had 17 and 18-year-olds playing under-20s and because they were wearing the same jerseys as the NRL team, there was a feeling the NYC was a natural pathway to the NRL.
But the downside of the under-20s competition was that they were placed into an elite-style set-up with travel and training demands and television exposure before they were mentally equipped to manage the associated pressures.
The problem with the under-20s environment was that rookies were all effectively the same age and on the same development level, so they didn’t have senior peers to mentor them.
How could an 18-year-old, for example, be mentored by a teammate when the oldest player in the team is a 20-year-old?
With the under-20s gone, the special talents who are 17 or 18 can actually get support if they are part of an NRL squad and be exposed to a system that would have multiple mentors on and off the field.
I arrived at Brisbane from Roma at the end of 1994 when I was 17 and I played in the Broncos Colts. I started pre-season training mainly with that group, but there were days where the whole club would have some tough sessions together.
There were people I looked up to I couldn’t believe I was mixing with. I was training with Allan Langer and Glenn Lazarus.
I got lucky halfway through the 1995 season when there were a few injuries in the club, so I got the opportunity to play reserve grade in June against Parramatta, three months after my 18th birthday.
That same day I was added to the bench to play 20 minutes of first grade against Parramatta.
While it was daunting playing first grade at 18, I also took comfort from the battle-hardened older guys around me.
I remember how much I benefited from the players around me. In the reserve grade team alone in 1995, I learned the ropes playing alongside the likes of Willie Carne, Terry Matterson and Kerrod Walters in that period, veterans with Test and Origin experience.
My first roommate in the senior team was Kevin Walters and I will never forget the lessons I learned just being around ‘Kevvie’.
Suaalii can have the same experience at South Sydney, especially with a great mentor like Wayne Bennett as his coach.
I just think there needs to be some flexibility with the age-entry rule because Suaalii can learn a lot beside guys like Damien Cook, Cody Walker and Cameron Murray.
At times, there may be an instance where the NRL deems a kid isn’t ready to play first grade and needs more support mechanisms placed around him by his club.
But if the Rabbitohs are comfortable in his ability, and the NRL is satisfied he can handle the game physically and mentally, then let Suaalii begin his journey reaching his full potential in rugby league.