‘Dirty tricks’: Major problem ruining the NRL laid bare as player contracts lose all value

The NRL has a major problem on its hands and it’s only getting worse with fans finally having enough of the farce that’s playing out.

COMMENT

Somewhere along the line, the NRL’s player transfer market became a spaghetti junction so complex it can only be traversed with a PHD or BS.

Whether it’s a player, an agent or a club, chances are they’ve 1. had exposure to this minefield and 2. bastardised it to their advantage.

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In lay terms, there’s no rule that isn’t inequitable or prone to manipulation by Isaac Moses- and it’s left confidence in the system at rancid lows.

This is why the governing body must untangle this web before the player agents wrest total control and rebrand the Wests Tigers as a labour hire agency.

As it stands, the salary cap is a proven rort that heavily favours the elite clubs, the November 1 deadline is a joke and the NRL is asleep at the security desk.

But it doesn’t matter anyway because the contracts governed under this model provide the same legal protections as the T & C’s on black market cigarettes.

As we know, players can test the market from November 1st at the beginning of the final year of their contract- and the results have been deadly.

Some sign so far in advance they risk dying of old age waiting for their new deal to commence, while others run dead waiting for their current one to end.

Mid-season transfers are a headache the NRL doesn't need. Image: Getty

Yes, blokes like Viliame Kikau and Jarome Luai bowed out from Penrith with a trophy after signing eons in advance for the Bulldogs and Tigers respectively.

But for every gluttoned Panther there’s a Brandon Smith gushing over the Roosters with a year to run on his Storm deal or a Daly Cherry-Evans triggering a form slump that cost himself the Queensland captaincy.

The rule treats the fans like mugs too, mainly by forcing them to cheer for players who’re already thinking about new shapes and release excuses.

Jarome Luai left the Panthers to secure a massive payday. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Viliame Kikau left the Panthers to join the Bulldogs on a lucrative deal. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Watching a mercenary farcically dial it in may be okay for us old cats blessed with the anchoring nostalgia of the glory years, but for the youngsters with no idea of the loyal one-club company men of this magical era, it sucks deluxe.

You wouldn’t cop a resigning CEO hanging around for a year or even a kid flipping burgers, you’d march them out the door before they spit in your fries- and the NRL should do the same too.

Furthermore, these advance signings also bury footy’s news cycle under a dogpile of whispers and cryptic Instagram posts.

Daly Cherry-Evans announcing his Manly exit earlier this year has derailed their season. Pic: NRL

If you were new to rugby league and the first thing you tracked was the Dylan Brown contract or the Lachie Galvin brouhaha, the most shocking thing you would’ve learned is both actually play football.

That’s because transfer imbroglio can snowball in to an all-consuming farrago of loopholing and lies that relegates the 80 minutes on the weekend behind whoever Phil Gould’s blueing on 100% Footy.

As for the contracts themselves, they’ve grown so worthless that the only clause recognised is the one about acting like a prat to get an annulment.

Dylan Brown has been axed by the Eels after signing with the Knights for 2026 and beyond. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

If there’s one thing more unedifying than a player snapping a deal because the coach used a stern tone of voice – or a club trying to force out an unwanted player – it’s the manner in which the desired outcome is achieved via Machiavellian smear.

With everyone employing dirty tricks via leaks and lies it means a deal signed to ‘2029’ no longer refers to a contract’s year but its number of exit clauses.

And when this contract is eventually broken?

It’s usually to accept a pittance to play for a premiership club or a Saudi ransom to be a pariah on the Gold Coast.

Yes, the salary cap was supposed to equalise talent distribution but now it just serves successful clubs over the bottom-feeders.

Add third party agreements and the silky persuasion of urban magnates like Nick Politis, and it’s no wonder juggernaut clubs pilfer developed talent from have-nots like milking a dairy cow for cheesecakes.

But how do we overhaul player movement to make it fair for everyone?

Transfer windows and swap deals have been suggested, as has a player draft or just folding the Roosters.

But the draft gets canned because it was palmed by Terry Hill 25 years ago, player swaps are too complicated for splitting the bill, and the Players Association don’t like a transfer window or the June 30 model because it only leaves new signings a measly six months to hire a removalist.

Player managers like Isaac Moses (pictured) only muddy the waters further.

As such, we’re left with a model that relies largely on honesty and arsey gotchas.

And with the NRL focused elsewhere on other trivialities, it means a player breach is only detected if it happens at the same time they fail to play the ball with their foot.

It’s time to get real.

Adopt zero tolerance on breaking contracts for more money and implement the ‘Classroom Lolly’ rule for TPA’s by outlawing the lot unless there’s enough for everyone.

If that’s not to the NRL’s liking, perhaps try the recruitment strategy proposed for the PNG expansion and lock them all down in a compound.

– Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.