NRL 2024: Sydney Roosters supremo Nick Politis, Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly warn against NRL player draft
Roosters supremo Nick Politis has slammed calls for the NRL to introduce a player draft, likening it to communism and vehemently backing the current pathways systems.
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Sydney Roosters supremo Nick Politis has described a player draft as “rugby league communism” and warned the NRL of the dangers of another legal bunfight.
One of the code’s most powerful figures, billionaire Roosters chairman Politis is adamant the NRL can do without the player-draft system that landed rugby league in a messy High Court battle involving Terry Hill three decades ago.
The NRL has commissioned a taskforce, the Pathways Steering Committee, to investigate the code’s structures, with a rookie draft and national under-21s competition among possible recommendations.
The PSC includes some of the game’s sharpest minds, including Queensland Rugby League boss Ben Ikin, Penrith football chief Matt Cameron, Storm general manager Frank Ponissi and Roosters coach Trent Robinson.
But Politis believes the player draft, which works successfully in the AFL, is a redundant concept for the NRL in an era where the salary-cap operates to ensure an equal distribution of talent.
“I don’t think our sport needs a draft,” said Politis, who has a 50-year affiliation with the code at the top level, having sponsored the Roosters in the 1970s.
“It’s like communism in rugby league.
“The salary cap does a good job with equalising talent and it was challenged years ago by Terry Hill and fell over.
“The game already has good pathways, so I’m happy with the current system.”
Politis’ reference to Hill is a cautionary tale for advocates of a rugby league draft.
After a rookie year at South Sydney, Hill had signed a deal at age 18 to play for Wests in 1991, only to be ordered by the NSW Rugby League to play for Politis’ Eastern Suburbs under the code’s internal draft rules.
Hill reluctantly played one season at the Roosters, but after he and 126 other plaintiffs took legal action against the NSWRL, arguing a restraint of trade, Australia’s High Court ruled in favour of the players.
Rugby league’s external and internal draft was axed and Hill joined Wests in 1992 for two seasons before becoming a champion NSW and Test centre at Manly.
Given the code’s legal history, the PSC is mindful of the perils of a rookie draft and it’s unlikely to be implemented if the NRL resurrects the National Youth Competition for the first time since 2017.
South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly believes the code’s current grassroots set-up enables local juniors to become one-club legends.
“We’re waiting to see the recommendations from the Pathways Committee,” Solly said.
“Until we get that report, it’s hard to comment on what is proposed, but everyone is open-minded about what can be done to improve the pathways system and the NRL competition.
“There are different versions of a player draft that operate in other sports, and clubs will consider everything on its merits.
“But we have to be careful not to lose one of the NRL’s unique competitive advantages.
“We are one of the few sports where a player can play junior rugby league in an area, graduate through a club’s junior rep teams and make it to the NRL and even representative honours.
“We see local kids becoming local heroes at one club, like John Sutton or Cameron Murray here at Souths.
“We should never lose the opportunity for a club and player to make that journey.”
Former Queensland Origin star and dual international Mat Rogers has called for a senior draft, as opposed to a rookie model, to eliminate NRL players signing with rival clubs years in advance.
“I love the fact that we’re talking about it, we need something like it,” Rogers said on SEN radio.
“I hate the system at the moment, I really do … the fact that someone can sign (for another club) then have to play for another year with that team, it just throws conjecture up in the air.
“A junior draft is hard because it would stop the investment of junior talent for clubs.
“But at the same time, they obviously want to win a comp and they’re trying to develop juniors to win a comp.
“When you’re a team like Penrith and you’re getting pillaged by other clubs for their talent, they aren’t seeing any benefit from it.”
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