Why hunt for next Sam Walker or Reece Walsh is costing NRL clubs

why relentless gamble is costing nrl club's players they need most

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It’s the gamble many NRL clubs are continually happy to make, even when it blows up in their face. But others have been left licking their wounds. In a desire to unearth the next teen prodigy, clubs are overlooking experienced reserve graders in the hope of discovering the next Sam Walker or Reece Walsh. Clubs like the Roosters and Warriors have been lucky enough to get it right this time and are set to reap the benefits for seasons to come.

Tom Dearden was touted as the next Alfie Langer after making his NRL debut for the Broncos at 18. After five games this season, the Broncos cut their losses and sent Dearden to the NQ Cowboys. He had played just four QLD Cup games before ex-Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold threw him in the deep end in 2019. Dearden played five NRL games that season and 12 in 2020, but never found his feet before new coach Kevin Walters arrived.

The Broncos replaced Dearden with Tyson Gamble, 24, who debuted for the Tigers in 2018 before joining the Broncos on a development deal in 2020. It had him primed for the NRL and he quickly locked down a regular spot in the 17. What Gamble lacked in freakish skills he made up for with several years of experience playing against grown men in reserve grade. Dearden and Gamble’s journeys are far from unique in today’s NRL landscape. Here’s why.

Each NRL club is allowed to have up to six development players each season. They each earn $60,000 and are not in the top 30, but they do train full time with the NRL squad. Part-time players, who do a minimum three nights a week of training, make up to $5,000 to $15,000 for the season. HOW DOES IT WORK? HOW DOES IT WORK? But sometimes those part-timers become full-timers.

Top 30 players not picked in the NRL drop back to reserve grade or the Jersey Flegg and Hastings Deering Colts competitions. The majority of clubs will invite some of their part-time players on a weekly basis to train with the NRL squad. When injuries happen, those part-timers can be put on a week-by-week full-time training contract worth $1,000 per week. Fans may ask: if these players are good enough to be selected for NRL, why weren't they in a club’s top 30 in the first place?

Sculpting a roster that balances star power, depth, cheapies and emerging talent is a difficult task. Thirty roster spots may sound like plenty, but if you factor in injuries throughout the year, it can look thin in no time. Take the Roosters’ 2021 season. Injuries decimated the NRL powerhouse, leaving them without 10 regular starters by season’s end. It’s because the game made a big change this year.

In previous seasons development players and train-and-trial players weren’t allowed to be selected for first grade until after June 30. This changed benefitted some players. But it hindered others. Part-time players weren’t allowed to be selected at all, unless a club got an exemption. But the game made a big change this year, allowing clubs to pick any player, from Round 10, no matter what type of contract they are on.

Arguably the best example of a late-bloomer in the NRL at the moment is South Sydney’s Cody Walker. Now, Walker is one of the game’s best players and this year he finished third in the Dally M count. After starring in the QLD and NSW cups in previous seasons, Walker debuted in the NRL at 26 in 2016. Amazingly, it took that long for a coach to take a gamble on him in first grade.

On the other side of the coin, Jordan Rankin’s premature debut arguably ruined his career. At just 16 and 238 days, Rankin became the third-youngest in Australian rugby league history to make his first grade debut. He played 17 NRL games for the Titans - but then had to wait three years for his second shot. In a 2016 interview, Rankin conceded that the wait dented his confidence.

“I’m not going to say I wasn’t thrown in too young but it was an opportunity I took ... that I was given... it is one of those things I have to live with now. Sixteen is obviously, when you look at it now, a bit young." Jordan Rankin

So the formula for NRL clubs to be successful and get the balance of their roster right seems simple. Wrong. It's so much trickier than that. Clubs need to tell their young guns to be patient and sign their NRL-ready backups on full-time deals. That way they get the best of both worlds, right? Here's why.

When the manager of a future star comes looking for a new deal or a spot in the full-time squad, a club is pushed up against a wall. So the club does what is has to do. They may believe the kid is still two or three years away from playing NRL, but they don’t want to lose him to a rival club. If they do, they risk looking silly if that kid does leave and happens to end up being the Walker-Walsh-Suaalii exception.

They lock in the young player’s future, and lose a spot in their top 30 that could have gone to a more experienced player who was meant to be next cab off the rank.

Author: Darcie McDonald Producer: Andrew Piva in partnership with Learn more

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why relentless gamble is costing nrl club's players they need most

why relentless gamble is costing clubs the players they need most