Eamonn Tiernan is the lead NRL reporter at foxsports.com.au and he writes Extra Time fortnightly.
Nobody in rugby league can agree on the exact fix but almost everybody agrees the NRL’s transfer system is broken.
Mick Ennis says it’s time to follow in the footsteps of the AFL.
Currently, NRL players are allowed to sign with rival clubs once they enter the final year of their contracts, which all begin on November 1.
It means a player can sign with a team 16 months before playing for them as frustrated fans are left in the lurch cheering for someone they know is leaving.
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We’re just 10 rounds into 2025 and there’s already been several bombshell announcements, with Lachlan Galvin, Daly Cherry-Evans, Dylan Brown, Brandon Smith and most likely Dom Young all set to leave their clubs.
The NRL is loath to copy the AFL but rugby league icon Ennis believes in this instance the game must take the best ideas from a system that clearly works.
So how does the AFL do it?
The AFL trade period is a designated two weeks in October where clubs can sign players – but only if all parties agree on the deal.
A contracted player cannot be forced into changing clubs and reserves the right to veto a deal, but in reality they often leave when a club publicly declares they’re open to trading them.
AFL players with eight or more seasons’ experience can become a free agent and move at will, though those in the top 25 per cent of wage earners at their club are restricted free agents and thus the original club can match any offer made for them. Although this is typically used as a trade leverage tool rather than players actually being kept against their will.
AFL clubs can also trade players for draft picks, which is where the NRL is limited.
The NRL had a draft system prior to 1991, but it was abolished after a successful legal challenge by players who argued it was an unreasonable restraint of trade.
The NRL does effectively have a transfer window like the AFL’s in place right now, with players able to sign elsewhere – no matter their contract status – as long as both clubs agree on the deal.
The problem is that it’s basically an eight-month transfer window that lasts from November 1 to June 30.
Ennis knows the ins and outs of player movement better than most having played for five NRL clubs in his decorated 274-game career.
The 2016 premiership winner believes it’s time to introduce a designated two-week transfer period – and not just one but potentially three throughout the year.
“I think it would bring great interest to our game if we had one for that week after the grand final in October and I think you could potentially have another one in February,” Ennis told foxsports.com.au.
“Sides may have picked up some injuries in the pre-season or might realise they’re overcompensated in an area and not in another.
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“Then players on the other hand can go ‘okay I thought I was going to be next in line but actually this young kid’s come through and now it looks like I’m third or fourth in line and I want to put myself into the transfer window.
“Let’s say you’re a young halfback and you’re third or fourth in line and there’s a side that’s lost a halfback in the pre-season to a long-term injury. A guy that’s probably going to play NSW Cup all year gets a chance to play first grade somewhere else.
“It gives clubs an opportunity to tidy up their roster or finalise their rosters for the season.
“And then whether you did another one mid-season, I think that brings great interest to the game.”
Ennis described the current system as “messy” and said transfer windows would also bring attention to lesser-known players.
“Imagine being able to drag the eyeballs for another two weeks in that lull period after the grand final like what we see with the AFL and the NFL where all the club CEOs are sitting in a room,” he said.
“It also gives the fans a great chance to hear about guys like Robert Toia and Jamie Humphreys and Antonio Large and Joey Walsh and Coby Black. All of a sudden fans start to hear these names popping up as that next generation of stars coming through, so you start to keep an eye out for them.
“At the moment, it’s just messy and I think there’s a better way to do it.”
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo last month threw his support behind introducing a transfer window in the wake of the Brown and Cherry-Evans’ sagas.
“I don’t like the system we’ve got at the moment, I think it’s disruptive to the season,” Abdo said.
“I’ve long campaigned for, and we attempted to negotiate with the RLPA, for a trade window at the end of the year for the year ahead.
“If players are going to move clubs, it should happen at the end of the season.”
BLUES SELECTORS SET TO SNUB MAY
Terrell May is establishing himself as one of the best props in the game with a breakout season that has him sitting second on the Dally M leaderboard.
But he won’t be picked for New South Wales this Sunday.
Blues coach Laurie Daley has been asking around about the Wests Tigers front-rower and the feedback hasn’t been all positive.
Those whose judgment Daley values believe there are defensive deficiencies in May’s game that would be exposed in the Origin arena.
It’s interesting feedback for a bloke who has one of the highest tackle efficiency rates in the NRL at 91.6 per cent.
But that’s not the only reason May will miss out.
The 26-year-old is an eccentric character and Daley is wary of the fact he only has 10 days in camp to get his side to gel ahead of the series opener at Suncorp Stadium.
On the numbers alone, May’s omission will be a snub no matter which way Daley dresses it.
May ranks first in the NRL for offloads and among NSW middles he’s second in average run metres and tackle busts only to Payne Haas who will be the first player picked for the Blues.
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MADGE’S BUSTED BRONCOS
It ain’t pretty in Brisbane at the moment and Red Hill is about to take new meaning with blood set to be spilt at the Broncos.
Michael Maguire only knows one way and Sydney Harbour cruises aside, he has built his career on one thing – work ethic.
The premiership-winning coach won’t flinch at reports he’s training his players too hard, if anything he’ll up the ante.
Yes, he’s mellowed somewhat in recent years but Maguire won’t tolerate what the Broncos dished up in the second half against the Rabbitohs last Friday.
Maguire has resisted swinging the axe this season but you can expect to see the guillotine drop if they lose to the Dragons on Sunday.
The initial plan was to give Ezra Mam a couple of weeks in reserve grade but the five-eighth will return to face the Dragons this week out of necessity.
Ben Hunt is out for at least a month after pulling his hamstring, while fellow half Jock Madden’s season is over after undergoing surgery for a torn pec on Monday.
Mam returned in the Queensland Cup last weekend and impressed in attack, scoring a try and setting up three more, but it was his defence that would have made Madge smile.
The 22-year-old whacked some blokes, and was even put on report for one shot, with the type of defence the Broncos have been missing over the past month.
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