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Since NRL CEO Dave Smith announced that he has the power of discretion to compete with other codes and competitions to both retain and recruit marquee talent, NRL fans have speculated which players would be eligible and which clubs would benefit.
What constitutes a ‘marquee’ player?
Cameron Smith is the probably the most influential rugby league player in the world, and a great ambassador for the sport both on and off the field.
However, he is not suited to switching codes. He is a specialist rugby league player.
James Graham is the most influential forward in any NRL team. Can you imagine him running round in the AFL? No. Rugby union? No. Maybe Super League will come calling for his return, but no other code is realistically going to make him an offer.
None of Johnathan Thurston, Kieran Foran, Shaun Johnson, Daly Cherry-Evans or Ben Hunt are suited to switching codes either. Johnson could possibly make a great rugby sevens player, but fulltime sevens would not make him enough money to consider it.
Cooper Cronk would be suitable for a code switch to rugby union, but at this stage of his career the NRL would struggle to justify matching any mega offer he may or may not receive.
Generally the players best suited to code switches are big, athletic outside backs. We have plenty of these, but the only player who has a superstar profile is Greg Inglis.
Could Dave Smith justify a ‘marquee’ payment to Greg Inglis? Yes. But that would only add to fans’ conspiracy theory of special treatment towards South Sydney.
Are there any other big, athletic outside backs that he could justify using his war chest on? Brett Morris? I’m a Bulldogs fan and Morris is a great player, but I’m sure fans from other clubs would object to that.
Marika Koroibete is proving himself to be an excitement machine and special winger, but how big is his media profile? Only hardcore fans would be upset to see him go.
Only great players that add significant commercial value to our game should be eligible to be recruited via the war chest. There are currently four outside of the NRL who spring to mind: Israel Folau, Sam Burgess, Sonny Bill Williams and Jarryd Hayne.
There is an argument that all four are far more valuable to the NRL now than before they left.
The best outcome for everybody would be the NRL finding the 16 most marketable players in rugby league and placing one at each club. The problem with that is marketability does not equal performance or results.
Beau Ryan is more valuable to a club as a brand, but Marika Koroibete is much more valuable on the football field.
It really is a dilemma.
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