I read this article today and it got me thinking about Souths' inability to attract good players (and Joe Galavao is an injured crock so he doesnt count) and the fact that teams like the Roosters are flaunting the cap and raise speculation. Also the fact that the NRL Draft seems like a dead issue, there doesnt seem to be any way ahead to get an even spread of talent in the league.
My solution, perhaps a little off the wall, is instead of a Draft, that there be a Dutch auction of playing talent. Done on a gala night like the NBA Draft, all clubs gather in say the Sydney Superdome. This can be held on July 1 after the anti-tampering "gloves" come off.
The club reps are presented with a list of off contracted players and the wooden spooners start by making a bid on one player. Then you move up the draft order and each club can similarly make a bid for players. If the clubs go through there bids and nobody makes a counter bid for a player, then that player is deemed "signed" by that club. If a rival club makes a counter bid, the process goes on until one club has made a final bid and everyone has passed in.
To make it fair and above board, each club must declare at the start of the auction how much cash they have in the kitty and hence can only offer bids on players to that limit.
Of course, a player at the end of the auction has the right to refuse to play for their purchaser but by the end of the night, most clubs will have come close to exhausting their reserves and the subsequent free market may be somewhat limited - and we would all know what clubs had money up their sleeves because they disclosed it at the start.
A little wierd, but doable...
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