Contracts can mean little in NRL as clubs slap the ‘for sale’ notice on players

While fans may fume over players who agitate to leave despite having a deal in place, here’s proof that clubs play that game too; plus a full 1-17 of players available for the right buyer.

Rugby league's 'black market' Picture: Supplied.

Let’s call it rugby league’s black market worth more than $10 million. The contracted players who your club wants to move on before the start of next year.

From established stars to fringe first-graders. Even if you have a deal in rugby league you are always for sale and this proves it.

Players sometimes get a bad reputation for agitating for a release for more money or a better opportunity but clubs are equally as guilty. The only difference is that regardless a contracted player will always pocket what he is owed.

There are a stack of reasons for moving players on. A new coach thinks you’re not going to match his style of play. Your form has dipped well below your pay packet.

It’s not all negative either. Your club may think you’re a first grader but your path is blocked by established stars. The NRL’s strict 30 man roster spots makes spaces almost as important as cap room.

Regardless, what it does mean is that you could be moved on despite having inked a deal.

Struggling clubs are the ones generally selling. Look at the Dragons, Eels, Tigers and Knights. The Tigers are armed with a self-proclaimed $2 million war chest.

The Eels are in the midst of a fire sale of their own. Forwards Ryan Matterson, Shaun Lane and Reagan Campbell-Gillard are free to go should they land somewhere. Maiko Sivo is expected to finish his career overseas.

The Dragons are flirting with a stack of contracted players including Campbell-Gillard, Newcastle’s Daniel Saifiti and North Queensland’s Valentine Holmes. They were already the beneficiary of Damien Cook’s time at South Sydney being cut short.

St George Illawarra are happy for Blake Lawrie and Mikaele Ravalawa to move on while they won’t stand in Jack Bird’s way after he requested permission to talk with other clubs.

Over at Canberra you’d anticipate that one of Corey Horsburgh or Emre Guler won’t be at the club next season. Horsburgh is the most likely after being given permission to talk with rival clubs just one season after making his Origin debut.

The art of tapping a player too is a new skill set clubs must develop. Do it too soon and your season can blow up like the Knights. Leave it too late and you run the risk of not giving the players enough time to find a suitable club therefore hurting the player and your cap.

It’s not all overhead projectors when players are moved on. The ‘war room’ usually involves the chief executive, coach and head of football when making these decisions. The chief executive then reaches out to the players agent while the coach may also have a one-on-one with a player to tell them they are on the chopping block.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona has been linked with a number of clubs. Picture: Getty Images

Sometimes there are informal chats between parties too and players happen to come out on the radar of rival clubs.

The likes of Sean O’Sullivan, Danny Levi, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Christian Welch, David Klemmer, Brent Naden, Bunty Afoa, Jayden Sullivan, Ben Condon, Cory Paix, Ken Maumalo, Jaxson Paulo and Ed Kosi are names who some clubs have had chats about pursuing even if they have not technically been told they can leave. Or even if their current club does not want them to go.

It grows every increasingly unlikely that John Bateman is at the Tigers next year when his short stint with Warrington ends while Isaiah Papali’i is a Panthers player in 2025 despite having a Tigers contract.

South Sydney’s Lachie Ilias and Cronulla’s Royce Hunt also remain on the market despite permission to talk to other clubs.

Penrith young gun Isaiah Iongi has drawn interest from a number of clubs. Picture: NRL Imagery

The Roosters already shifted Sitili Tupouniua to the Bulldogs for next season. The Bulldogs roster is in a bit of flux at the moment with uncertainty regarding the medical situation of Ryan Sutton and Karl Oloapu.

Young prop Itula Seve may also be on the move from Canterbury.

The Penrith production line always attracts the interest of rival clubs. This time it is fullback Isaiah Iongi who will make his NRL debut against the Knights on Sunday. Iongi, who is stuck behind Dylan Edwards, has already been identified by other clubs as a potential option from next season with 12 months left on his deal.

Who needs a transfer window? The NRL’s player market has never been as fluid. And that will only heat up once further teams fall out of finals contention.

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Calls to drop young stars who move on from their clubs are off the mark. But what it does do is shorten the leash made available should their position come under threat at the back end of the year.

To continue to develop the players or banish them all together? That’s a choice the Eels have to make in the next couple of weeks. And to a lesser extent the Tigers. Blaize Talagi’s decision to move on at season’s end presents an interesting decision for interim coach Trent Barrett. We’ve seen calls from people in the past to dump those emerging players once they sign elsewhere. I’m not a fan. The same with Stefano Utoikamanu at the Tigers. If they are in your best 17, pick them. But if it becomes a toss of the coin job I’d be going for the player who is at the club next year. In both Talagi and especially Utoikamanu’s case they still make their club’s best side.

Originally published as Contracts can mean little in NRL as clubs slap the ‘for sale’ notice on players