The NRL is set to make big changes to the salary cap which will see clubs who debut more rookies, as opposed to signing free agents and rival players, earn financial rewards.
The proposal is a ploy to deter teams from poaching rival players years before their contract is set to expire and give teams incentives to develop young players.
SEN’s Michelle Bishop has said the paper that has been put forward to the clubs has been met with an overwhelmingly positive reception.
“It’s a proposed solution to the ongoing issue of (player poaching),” Bishop said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“A paper has been sent to clubland for feedback.
“Under the proposal, clubs will be rewarded for blooding debutants (and) putting in the early efforts rather than just buying established players.
“We’ve been banging on about this for quite some time.”
The proposal was drafted by sports management consultant Ramy Haidar who has previously worked with Manly Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler.
Clubs will be graded on a metric that will calculate the total number of NRL appearances against a total number of club appearances to determine whether a team is eligible for financial bonuses.
“The salary cap allowances will be judged on a team purity score,” Bishop continued.
“It’s a metric derived by comparing the total number of club appearances against the total number of NRL appearances.
“Showing a proportion of a side's experience in that team.”
The salary cap changes would benefit sides such as the Sydney Roosters whose rookies have played 45 games in 2021 whereas their imports have played a total of 38 games, giving the Roosters a net positive of seven games.
The Cronulla Sharks would not benefit from the cap as they have blooded 38 games to rookies over 55 games for imported talent.
Bishop added that the proposal is nothing ground-breaking but addresses the recruiting problem that became rampant in the 2022 off-season.
“It’s about clubs being rewarded for all their hard efforts,” she added.
“This is basically measuring out which clubs deserve salary cap relief.”