NRL 2021 mock rookie draft: Which young star would have landed at your club
Who would your club land if the NRL adopted an AFL-style rookie draft? We examine how a 2021 draft would have played out, with big results.
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Joseph Suaalii at fullback for Brisbane. Reece Walsh sparking Canterbury to life. Playmaker Sam Walker steering Valentine Holmes and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow around the park for North Queensland.
As free agency fever grips rugby league’s off-season, the idea of bringing in a rookie draft remains on the table. We’ve taken a look at how the 2021 NRL season might have looked had the game’s governing body introduced one in the lead up.
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On the back of a season of lopsided scorelines, the calls are growing louder for the NRL to bring in a rookie draft to balance the distribution of talent across all 16 clubs.
Similar to the AFL, this completely hypothetical NRL rookie draft would see the bottom placed team have first pick of the young talent across the country – in this case being the 2020 wooden spooners the Broncos.
WATCH CHRIS HONNERY’S ROOKIE DRAFT EXPLAIN IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
To be eligible for the NRL rookie draft, we’re keeping it simple by only allowing players who had not played an NRL game in the lead up to the 2021 season.
We’ve selected 16 of the best rookies from 2021 – one for each club – and looked at where they could have ended up for the 2021 season.
There’s a few tweaks, contract negotiations and development list player issues which need to be ironed out, but here’s the pros and cons of such a system.
PROS OF AN NRL ROOKIE DRAFT
It’s hoped a draft will spread the rugby league talent evenly across all 16 – soon to be 17 – clubs, with bottom-placed teams getting first pick of the best of the best in the country.
It would allow promising youngsters a crack at first grade sooner than they would with their current affiliation if there’s a backlog of talent in their position.
It adds another level of excitement for NRL fans to see which young player their club signs.
CONS OF AN NRL ROOKIE DRAFT
Clubs like the Broncos and Panthers have poured time, money and resources into their junior pathways in the hope of developing homegrown talent into first grade NRL stars.
But as has also been shown with the likes of Sam Walker, David Fifita and Reece Walsh, that model can easily come back to bite you when other clubs come poaching your best young talent.
It would also mean local juniors may have to move interstate – even across the ditch – to play NRL, taking them away from family and loved ones for much of the year.
THE 2021 ROOKIE DRAFT
PICK NO.1: BRONCOS, JOSEPH SUAALII
Dob: 01.08.03
Birthplace: Penrith, NSW
Position: Fullback
The Broncos would have had the pick of the bunch from the 2021 rookie crop. At the start of the season, Brisbane had Anthony Milford, Brodie Croft and wunderkind Tom Dearden in the halves, while the fullback options were rather thin. That’s why teen sensation Suaalii would have made a smart pick to fill their No.1 jumper and justified Brisbane overlooking their own Sam Walker.
PICK NO.2: BULLDOGS, REECE WALSH
Dob: 10.07.02
Birthplace: Southport, QLD
Position: Fullback
Coach Trent Barrett had just taken over as head coach, already overhauling the roster by signing halfback Kyle Flanagan, fullback Corey Allan and prop Jack Hetherington for the 2021 season. However, Walsh’s potential, versatility and playmaking skills would have been too good to pass up. That pick would have been justified given Canterbury were never settled on their fullback or five-eighth selections, positions Walsh, who had been earmarked for stardom, could easily have filled.
PICK NO.3: COWBOYS, SAM WALKER
Dob: 16.06.02
Birthplace: Leeds, UK
Position: Halfback
All eyes leading into the 2021 season were on former Cowboys skipper Michael Morgan and his injured shoulder. Had the club known he was planning on retiring early, they would have targeted young Walker as a replacement playmaking option for the club, earmarking him as Johnathan Thurston’s long-term successor. The handy pick up won the 2021 Dally M Rookie of the Year.
PICK NO.4: SEA EAGLES, BEN TRBOJEVIC
Dob: 01.08.01
Birthplace: Sydney, NSW
Position: Second row
Des Hasler knows pedigree better than most, and with Jake and Tom Trbojevic the foundation of his Sea Eagles rebuild, the opportunity to bring in athletic and versatile younger brother Ben was a no-brainer. At 193cm and 105kg, Trbojevic can play in the centres or back row and keep the local junior at Manly.
PICK NO.5: DRAGONS, ROCCO BERRY
Dob: 17.05.01
Birthplace: Masterton, NZ
Position: Fullback
The Dragons lost a wealth of talent leading into the 2021 season, including centre Euan Aitken and flying winger Jason Saab. Berry was hailed as a young prodigy at the start of the year and would have added plenty of excitement to a young squad.
PICK NO.6: TIGERS, TOBY SEXTON
Dob: 01.03.01
Birthplace: Sunnybank, QLD
Position: Halfback
With the departure of Benji Marshall and Harry Grant, the Tigers needed a playmaker and the Queensland Under-18s five-eighth would have suited that role nicely, especially considering how many times Michael Maguire switched up his halves combination in 2021.
PICK NO.7: WARRIORS, JAYDEN CAMPBELL
Dob: 07.02.00
Birthplace: NSW
Position: Fullback
With star fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck announcing he will chase his All Blacks dream in 2022, the club had to look for a replacement. Who better than young Campbell to fill that void, given Reece Walsh would have gone earlier in the draft.
PICK NO.8: TITANS, TC ROBATI
Dob: 14.11.01
Birthplace: Porirua, NZ
Position: Second row
There was plenty of speculation that Robati would join the Titans following David Fifita’s defection from Brisbane to the Gold Coast. The young back-rower would have made a perfect one-two punch with Fifita in the Titans’ engine room – not to mention both coming out of the Broncos development system.
PICK NO.9: SHARKS, BLAKE TAAFFE
Dob: 21.04.99
Birthplace: Sydney, NSW
Position: Halfback
With Shaun Johnson injured for the first month of the 2021 competition, the Sharks would have loved to have a young half as a back-up. Johnson’s experience and leadership would have been key in developing Taaffe into a first-grade halfback.
PICK NO.10: KNIGHTS, JOCK MADDEN
Dob: 07.03.00
Birthplace: NSW
Position: Halfback
Heralding from the Hunter Valley region, Madden could have provided great cover for Mitchell Pearce, who was coming to the end of his Newcastle contract at the end of the 2021 season. The former Australian Schoolboy would have formed a dangerous combination with the likes of Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best.
PICK NO.11: RABBITOHS, SELWYN COBBO
Dob: 05.06.02
Birthplace: Cherbourg, QLD
Position: Fullback
Though largely unheard of in the lead-up to the 2021 season, Cobbo was already drawing comparisons to Souths fullback Latrell Mitchell. Having the chance to become Mitchell’s understudy would have proved immense for young Cobbo.
PICK NO.12: RAIDERS, DEAN IEREMIA
Dob: 20.08.01
Birthplace: Fagaloa, Samoa
Position: Winger
The loss of Nick Cotric and John Bateman out wide left Canberra’s edge relatively thin on stock. Ieremia’s development through the Melbourne Storm system would have been enticing enough for Canberra to poach the young Victorian talent.
PICK NO.13: ROOSTERS, TUKIMIHIA SIMPKINS
Dob: 24.12.01
Birthplace: Rotorua, NZ
Position: Second row
The young Kiwi back-rower was earmarked as a New Zealand rugby prospect before opting to stick with rugby league. The Roosters were keeping a close eye on skipper Boyd Cordner’s health following his concussion struggles and Simpkins shaped as a handy replacement.
PICK NO.14: EELS, GREG MARZHEW
Dob: 04.04.97
Birthplace: Auckland, NZ
Position: Winger
Hulking outside back Marzhew, who had played in the Eels’ under-20s side in 2017, would have been a handy replacement for Michael Jennings, who was suspended over a failed doping test. With Blake Ferguson off contract at the end of 2021, the Junior Kiwis representative shaped as a shrewd pick-up.
PICK NO.15: MELBOURNE STORM: XAVIER SAVAGE
Dob: 24.04.02
Birthplace: Cairns, QLD
Position: Winger
After taking out the 2020 NRL premiership, Melbourne hardly needed much improvement. Legend Cameron Smith was set to retire, but Harry Grant and Brandon Smith filled that void nicely. Speedster Josh Addo-Carr had announced he was joining the Bulldogs in 2022, so the Storm could have done worse than sign Savage, who clocked a 10.5 second 100m sprint as a 16-year-old. Talk about a like-for-like swap.
PICK NO.16: PENRITH PANTHERS: JAKE SIMPKIN
Dob: 16.10.01
Birthplace: Toowoomba, QLD
Position: Hooker
With the last pick in the draft, courtesy of finishing the regular season as minor premiers, the Panthers could have secured Simpkin. The highly rated junior representative star would have been a dynamo No.14 and back-up hooker option who would excel in a young Panthers team and be a long-term successor to Apisai Koroisau at No.9.
Bennett: Why NRL needs three drafts
- Peter Badel
One of rugby league’s most powerful voices, Wayne Bennett, has come out swinging in support of an NRL draft, saying the spate of mid-season player transfers is a blight on the code.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo says he is open to considering a player draft to help remedy a lopsided 2021 premiership that delivered the worst season of blowout scorelines in 86 years.
Competition bosses are also mindful the decision to expand the competition to 17 teams, with the inclusion of the Dolphins in 2023, will require another 30 full-time NRL players and place further stress on talent equalisation.
A player draft in rugby league has been mooted for the past three decades but Bennett, the NRL’s greatest coach, says it’s time for ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys to act.
“I am a fan of the draft because it’s another way of levelling the competition up and the fans deserve that,” Bennett said.
“The current system is just not right. It has to change.
“We are the only sport in the world that operates with a salary cap but no draft. They have to go hand-in-hand.
“The fans don’t deserve what they have copped over the last decade or so.
“Players just leaving clubs mid-season and all this rubbish ... pulling up stumps midway through the year and they go and play for another club.
“The NRL has to start making a move now. It will clean up a lot of the things in the game in regards to player movement.
“If the discussion for a draft is back on the table, I’m happy.”
Bennett, who began coaching in the big league with Canberra in 1987 when the premiership was largely a Sydney-based competition, explained how he believed an NRL draft could work.
“I would see three things happening,” he said.
BUZZ’S TOP 50: SHOCKING NRL TALENT IMBALANCE EXPOSED
“I would see a rookie draft, I would see a state league draft and then there are those players already in the NRL who are seeking releases or being cut, so I’d see a draft for them as well.
“You could have the drafts at different stages of the year.
“The NRL player draft might be in October before pre-season, but whatever the timing, we need a system that governs how players get into the NRL, and once players are in the NRL, how do they move clubs?”
While the draft works successfully in the AFL, it has become a legal minefield in rugby league.
In 1991, former NSW Origin star Terry Hill took the code to court after he refused to be drafted to the Roosters, seeking to play instead for Western Suburbs.
The Hill saga went all the way to the High Court, which ruled in favour of the centre, setting a dangerous legal precedent should the ARL Commission seek to reintroduce a player draft three decades later.
Asked about the belief players should not be forced to relocate to a club they don’t wish to play for, Bennett said: “Stop it. That’s bloody rubbish.
“That is the greatest load of crap I’ve ever heard.
“That’s the easy line the anti-draft people can throw at this argument.
“These guys pack their bags all the time and relocate.
“Tom Dearden left the Broncos midway through this season and moved to Townsville (to play for the Cowboys) in a few days. He was a 20-year-old kid.
“Tevita Pangai went to the Panthers (from the Broncos). Did he have any trouble going to another club?
“The only people who will whinge about the draft are the player managers because it will restrict them and the deals they can do to move players around.
“Player managers would not be able to manipulate the draft system.
“Under the draft, the best kids will get shared around the clubs.
“I believe it would equalise the competition. It would certainly help.
“The biggest thing about any team is its management. If you have poor management, you are in trouble, it doesn’t matter if you have drafts or have the best players.
“If you are a well-managed club, the draft is not something clubs should fear, but it will prevent the best players always being picked up by the best clubs.
“We need to look at the benefits to the game, we want better contests between talent that is distributed better. It can work for us.
“There is a lot to happen with the draft and it can’t happen overnight. A lot of discussions have to be held with the NRL and the players association, but it needs to happen.
“If it’s about you, and being selfish, the draft won’t work. But if you care about the game, the draft can work in the NRL.
“They do it in all the American sports. It’s the best way for a sport to thrive and survive.”
NRL’s gulf war: how weaker clubs can thrive
- Phil Rothfield
The worst season of rugby league blowouts in 86 years has forced the NRL to consider a rookie draft among other measures to help lift the weakest clubs off the bottom of the ladder.
The Daily Telegraph’s annual list of top 50 players has shown an alarming imbalance with 38 players in the list coming from just six clubs – the Panthers, Storm, South Sydney, Manly, Parramatta and the Roosters.
In a wide-ranging interview, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has spoken about the importance of having more balanced rosters.
“We want to have a competition where teams begin each season with genuine hope for competitiveness,” Abdo said.
“Every competition in the world in any sport has clubs doing well and clubs going through tougher times. It ebbs and flows.
“But as a governing body we need to create and always think about ways to establish balance over the long term.
“There is no denying there is a gulf but there are a range of factors. And we’ll monitor it carefully over the next couple of seasons.”
That includes the possibility of a rookie draft.
Something to stop every Joseph Suaalii and Sam Walker going to the Sydney Roosters or the more powerful clubs.
“A draft is a great way to distribute young talent and it’s been used successfully in other sporting codes,” Abdo said.
“The commission will always consider any element or tool at its disposal to create an exciting competition because we’re in the sports entertainment business.
“There are technical reasons why a draft hasn’t been implemented in the NRL and we need to work through those.
“The whole idea is to develop and identify talent and spread it across all clubs in the competition.
“It’s difficult to see it happening in the short term but we’ll look at everything.”
Abdo said it was also up to the struggling clubs to get their own houses in order.
“We want to make sure every club has a world-class centre of excellence, great facilities, great coaches, great stadiums, good culture, good leadership and good people,” he said. “That will translate into good rosters.”
THE IMBALANCE
Rugby league hasn’t seen such a disparity in the clubs and their rosters in 86 years.
● There were 14 50-plus scores this season, compared to five a decade ago;
● Only 31 per cent of games in 2021 had a margin of less than 10 points;
● A remarkable 36 of 192 games had score margins of 30 points or more, exactly double the amount of blowouts from 10 years ago;
● The NRL had an average score margin of 18.29 – the highest since 1935;
● No less than 117 of 192 games (61 per cent) had 13-plus margins.
Yet a magnificent finals series was proof that games with the best against the best will always produce the most spectacular football and tight finishes.
THE DRAFT
It has worked well in the AFL.
It has allowed the GWS Giants, who entered the competition in 2012, to make the finals in five of the past six years. This is after they ran 18th, 18th and 16th in their first three seasons.
It enabled the Melbourne Demons to win the flag after finishing 17th three years ago.
This doesn’t happen in the NRL.
The bottom-eight clubs rarely change … and their fans are over it.
The Wests Tigers haven’t made the finals for more than a decade and the Warriors have made them only once.
St George Illawarra and the Titans have made the top eight only twice in 10 years.
The argument against the draft is that the Gold Coast Suns and Carlton in the AFL have been perennially hopeless over the past decade, despite getting the best draft picks.
You can hand clubs the best young talent, but you also need the systems in place to nurture that talent.
THE PLAYERS
When Latrell Mitchell left the Sydney Roosters after the 2019 grand final, he could have set himself up for life at the Wests Tigers. They offered him $4.8m over four years.
He knocked it back to take a one-year, $700,000 offer from the Rabbitohs.
Why? Because he wanted to play under Wayne Bennett, win a premiership and play alongside the likes of Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds.
There was a similar story with Suaalii. He knocked back Michael Maguire and the Tigers to accept $1m less at the Roosters because he wanted to learn his trade under Trent Robinson.
Struggling clubs such as the Cowboys are having to pay way overs.
They signed Chad Townsend for $700,000 a season. He would have been flat out getting half that amount at another club.
THE MANAGERS
There are three major considerations for players before signing a contract, according to veteran agent Steve Gillis.
“One. Players want to know they are going to get paid,” Gillis said. “In the past, some clubs have had financial problems. Some have had salary cap issues and tried to off-load players early. That’s a turn-off.
“Two. Players want to be in a competitive side. They want to play in finals. They all want to win a premiership. It’s every player’s dream. It’s a massive factor. They want to play State of Origin and international football.
“Three. The best coaches attract the best players. Players want to go where they can develop their skills and improve. The better they play, the more money they are worth.”
Gillis also believes it comes down to the standard of administration at each club.
“The gap between the best and the bottom is huge,” he said. “The clubs with good systems, good coaching and good people succeed the most. The ones that are almost always in the top eight.
“If clubs want to climb the ladder they need to operate more efficiently and more professionally.”
Rival agent Mario Tartak agrees. He looks after the likes of Damien Cook, Josh Schuster and Josh Addo-Carr.
“Some clubs get it, some don’t,” he said. “Some are very good with juniors and their pathways, others aren’t.
“Look at Parramatta and the size of their junior league nursery. How many locals are playing first grade at the Eels? One, Junior Paulo. Maybe another couple but not many.”
Tartak uses Josh Addo-Carr as an example at the Wests Tigers. The Blues Origin winger signed an agreement to join the club last year but changed his mind and went to the Bulldogs.
“Josh was under contract at Melbourne Storm and they wanted Tommy Talau in a swap,” Tartak said. “Wests Tigers wouldn’t do it. Then Josh felt, ‘you know what, they don’t rate me very high’, so he pulled out.”
Tartak explained why Moses Suli recently left the strong Manly club for St George Illawarra.
“You talk about good management,” Tartak said.
“Anthony Griffin explained it really well to Moses. How he wanted him on one side, Zac Lomax the other. How they were building nicely in the forwards. It was a good sell. Moses could see they had good plans in place. That’s what players want to see.”
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