Time NRL introduced transfer window

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THE recent contract sagas involving Ben Barba, Blake Ferguson and Anthony Milford - three of the code's brightest young talents - underlines why it is time for the NRL to introduce a transfer window.

Should the NRL introduce a transfer window?

In an ideal, more simplistic world, elite athletes wouldn't break contracts. It is a concept largely foreign to me. Like many former players, I was reared in a sporting environment where your word was your bond.

You could look an official in the eye, and a firm handshake would be enough to guarantee the commitment of both parties.

But times have changed. Like many overseas sporting competitions, the NRL has become a cut-throat, professional world. The by-product is that market movement is greater, and more rapid, and if we can't stem the tide of players swapping clubs then we must at least have mechanisms that help regulate how the transactions occur.

At present, an NRL player can ask for a release at any given moment, regardless of how long is left on their contracts.

Last month, it was Milford who suddenly wanted out. Then it was Barba. Now Ferguson is a free agent following the sacking of David Furner at Canberra.

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The constant contractual speculation is not only disruptive to clubs, but a let down for supporters and bad look for the code with the finals series looming on the horizon.

Major sports, such as English Premier League football, provide a transfer period where clubs have the ability to sign players or negotiate releases for those who wish to go elsewhere.

No system is ever inch perfect, but the time has come for the NRL to implement a transfer system that provides a framework around player movement and enables clubs to be compensated in the process.

The NRL could allow two trade periods during the year, a two-week window before the State of Origin series, around mid-May, and another fortnight's trading after the grand final in October.

That system would enable players and clubs to broker legitimate moves either during the season, or after it as teams look to bolster their rosters ahead of pre-season training for the upcoming campaign.

At the end of the day, as a club you don't want a player who isn't happy because you then don't get the most out of them. There needs to be a structured way where a player is permitted to leave, as long as the club who loses him is entitled to compensation in the form of a transfer fee.

For example, take Corey Norman at the Broncos. In March, he signed with Parramatta for the 2014 season, but has since been dropped to reserve grade for form reasons and is unlikely to wear the Broncos jumper again.

Had there been a trade window in place, Norman would have the option of seeing out the year in Brisbane, or asking the Broncos to consider a transfer fee from the Eels for an early release.

I have no problem with players looking to get out of contracts if the reasons are genuine - such as Barba and Milford's family issues. As a rule, player movement is more palatable now than it was five or 10 years ago, but a transfer window would assist in that process.

***

THE announcement during the week of plans to build a high-performance training facility is a great coup for the Broncos.

When you look at facilities at other clubs, particularly in the AFL, it has been long overdue for a flagship club like Brisbane. Your club culture is the most important part to success, but in today's game the better your facilities are, the better opportunity you give the players of success.

When I started in the mid-1990s at the Broncos, we accepted what we were given and we made it work. I was never one to whinge about needing more, but a high-performance centre will add to the motivation for young athletes to want to be a part of the Broncos.

As a recruiting tool, I think a facility like this will be of huge appeal to a potential Broncos player and it will take the club to a new level of professionalism. 

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