NRL set for grassroots overhaul with NYC to return, a crackdown on player agents and stopping clubs from hoarding talent

The NRL is set for the biggest grassroots reform in its history by reviving the National Youth Competition and cracking down on player agents targeting teenage talent. See the full list of recommendations.

The NRL is set for the biggest grassroots reform in its history by reviving the National Youth Competition, cracking down on player agents and stopping powerhouse clubs hoarding rugby league’s best young talent.

And in a landmark movement for the sport, the much-vaunted NRL rookie draft is all-but dead as part of proposed changes to a junior development system QRL boss Ben Ikin blasted as “toxic”.

This masthead has obtained a top-secret document containing nine recommendations made by the NRL’s Pathways Steering Committee, formed last year to investigate the code’s grassroots system.

The Committee was chaired by Queensland Rugby League CEO Ikin and also included Panthers CEO Matt Cameron, Melbourne general manager Frank Ponissi and Roosters coach Trent Robinson.

The recommendations were put to NRL clubs for feedback in December.

The PSC will deliver its final report to the ARL Commission, which will now consider the nine recommendations.

Under an unprecedented shake-up of the NRL’s grassroots, the recommendations include:

* A ban on NRL player agents contracting teenagers as young 14 years old;

* Player agents restricted from signing junior talent until the calendar year in which they turn 18;

* The introduction of an under-21s National Pathways Competitions for the 2026 season; and

* The code to adopt a “standardised national development program” for all players aged 13-15 from next year.

There has been a push for the NRL to introduce a rookie draft for decades. While the PSC suggested it be considered at a “later date”, Ikin concedes an external draft for the NRL’s best teenagers may not happen until 2030 and beyond - if at all.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE EVERY RECOMMENDATION MADE BY THE PSC

“The rookie draft will be modelled by some big brains at the NRL, but my personal view is that until we get to 20 teams and the new franchises have established themselves, the draft won’t be rolled out,“ Ikin said.

“The pathways review was a really robust process, where all the members were asked to figure out how we make this part of the game more efficient and less toxic.

“The outcome was a set of recommendations, that if properly executed, will ensure the NRL is world-leading in how it develops talent.

Ben Ikin has slammed the NRL’s current junior development system as ‘toxic’.

“There will no doubt be push back from individual stakeholders based on their own view of the world, but I know Peter V’landys (ARLC chair) and Andrew Abdo (NRL CEO) are committed to doing what’s right for the whole of game.”

One area in line for a seismic shake-up is how accredited player agents sign the code’s next generation of NRL stars.

Right now, players as young as 14 can sign with a player agent.

But the arms race for talent has seen a growing number of teenagers in a tug-of-war for their signatures by not only NRL clubs, but player agents.

“Reducing competitive tension in the player market for minors was a key driver behind some of the recommendations, which includes regulating what player agents can and can’t do,“ Ikin said.

If the recommendations are rubber-stamped by the ARL Commission, player agents would be banned from signing players until the year in which they turn 18.

Only in exceptional circumstances - with approval from the NRL - would agents be able to sign a 16 or 17-year-old under a revamped system.

One of the NRL’s most experienced player agents, Chris Orr, warned keeping agents away from the negotiation table could open up those teenage players to exploitation.

“You could have a young superstar 16 or 17-year-old whose clubs want to sign big deals for four or five years,” Orr said.

“Kids that age don’t need an agent if they don’t have an NRL club.

“But if NRL clubs want to sign kids that age, then it’s a fair expectation for them to have an accredited agent, you can’t expect mums and dads to negotiate deals.

“I did a four-year deal last year for a kid who was in year 11. He is year 12 this year and is going straight into 16 weeks of training with an NRL club. After school, he will move to a development contract and a $150,000 deal beyond that. A parent can’t put together that deal.”

Leading agent David Rawlings backed the new age rule, saying it protected teenagers from the predatory behaviour of some managers, who entice players as young as 14-years old to sign contracts with agents with the promise of boots sponsorship, endorsements and NRL stardom.

Prominent NRL player agent Chris Orr (right) has warned that keeping agents away from the negotiation table could open up those teenage players to exploitation. Picture: Celeste Humphrey

“Moving the age limit for agency protects young players from being exposed to incentivisation and becoming locked into long term contracts which may not be in their best interest. It should be mandated immediately,” Rawlings said.

Under the new rule if a teenager is offered a development or top 30 contract by a club before the year that they turn 18, the player will need approval from the NRL to engage a player agent to assist with the negotiation of the deal.

The NRL would also be charged with developing a single standardised national development program for players aged 13 to 15.

Clubs currently sign players in that age group to their own academies where development programs are designed by the club.

The view is for a national development program to ultimately replace club-run academies across the game.

Manly players celebrate victory over Parramatta in the last Holden Cup U20’s grand final in 2017. Picture: Brett Costello

But the NRL is yet to determine how the standard program will be delivered if club-run academies were not in place.

One source told this masthead that development clubs, like Penrith, Parramatta and Brisbane, would still be required to deliver the prescribed standardised program even if given the option to keep their academies up and running.

Other major recommendations include restricting the number of players a club can have on its books between the ages of 16 to 19.

The NRL will also look at placing a cap at how much a teenage player can earn. Players with development or top 30 deals won’t be subject to the new contracting model.

“Initiatives like the standardised national development program or caps on the number of contracts are significant changes to the current structure, but subject to the final details and a plan for implementation being shared with us, we’re very supportive of the concept,” South Sydney CEO Blake Solly said.

Clubs have also given the green light for the NRL to begin modelling a new-look under 21s NYC in 2026 after the PSC conducted an investigation for its potential return, as revealed by this masthead last year.

The NYC was axed in 2017 amid concerns over the blowout costs of the then under 20s league and player welfare issues.

But the NYC could be back in action as early as next year in a move that would see the 17 NRL clubs field under-21s team, supporting the “vertical integration” the code has been seeking to aid junior development.

For all its criticism, the NYC produced a host of future superstars, including Kalyn Ponga, Ben Barba, Tom Trbojevic, Shaun Johnson, Viliame Kikau and Jason Taumalolo.