Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins have struck a blow on the recruitment front by poaching Panthers young gun Isaiya Katoa and Penrith legend Greg Alexander is fuming over the move.
Katoa, a star of Penrith’s SG Ball Cup side, was announced on Friday by the Dolphins on a three-year deal and is a strong chance of being one of their starting halves when the expansion side comes into the NRL next year.
The Panthers are furious that they have lost one of their best young prospects and Alexander, who is the club’s deputy chair, believes it it yet another example of why the NRL needs to fix its controversial player transfer system.
“Very disappointing when you lose a player you want to keep, particularly a junior like him,” he said on SEN Radio on Friday morning.
“It doesn’t happen often that you really want to keep a junior and he decides to go somewhere else but that’s what’s happened.
“It has caused some problems within the club. You develop juniors and they get poached.”
Alexander said Katoa, whose older brother Sione has played in the NRL since 2015 for Penrith and Canterbury, has been developed through Penrith’s pathways and “at the moment is playing very well for the Panthers’ SG Ball team”.
“They’ve had a couple of games and he’s been the star of both games.”
The Dolphins have been criticised for targeting veteran players in the twilight of their careers in the early stages of their recruitment drive after signing Kenny and Jesse Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi from the Storm and Rabbitohs prop Mark Nicholls.
Katoa’s acquisition gives their building roster a much-needed injection of youth.
Alexander said apart from a small nominal fee that is paid to the club that develops a player, there is little incentive for development clubs like Penrith in cases like this to invest heavily in a young player only to see them walk to another team.
He said he could understand the business side of it from the Dolphins’ perspective that they wanted to sign the young star and did not blame Katoa for looking elsewhere with Origin duo Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai locked in long term as Penrith’s halves.
But he believes the NRL needs to institute a system where there is a reward for clubs that put time and effort into moulding youth-level players into first-graders but lose them to other teams that don’t develop young talent.
“You are not getting compensated for the money you invest in a player,” he said.
“There is a lot of movement between clubs with junior players. I’m saying that the league should be compensating clubs for developing juniors.”
Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher is set to meet NRL CEO Andrew Abdo to discuss the issue.
Abdo on Thursday said the league was looking at ways to change the player transfer system with clubs at the moment able to sign recruits from other teams more than a full year before they join their new side.
He is negotiating with the RLPA for a new collective bargaining agreement which kicks off next season with the next funding cycle based on the new broadcast rights agreements.
“As we enter that new period from 2023 onwards we have an opportunity to put a new system in place so I think things will be different from next year,” he said.
“What exactly they look like, I can’t tell you just yet.”
There is a strong push for a transfer window or multiple trading periods over the course of each year.
There have already been 16 player switches announced for 2023, affecting 12 club rosters.
The Eels already have five players leaving next year – Isaiah Papali’i (Tigers), and Marata Niukore (Warriors) as well as Stone, Mahoney and Kaufusi and have signed Raiders hooker Josh Hodgson.
Melbourne have lost four stars – Kaufusi and the Bromwich brothers to the Dolphins, and Roosters-bound Kiwi international Brandon Smith (Storm).
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Yes I see your point. They buy the elite players and somehow fit them under the cap. That suggests to me they are not being paid all their worth. When St.George was in their eleven year winning run from 56-66 they would add the best player from outside Sydney. Those players were happy to play in a team that was going to give them a Grand Final win. So they could keep their winning team together and add players like Kevin Ryan in 62 and Graeme Langlands in 63. Of course they were semi professional then and had jobs and Frank Facer didn't tell them what other players were being paid.
Westie
Guest
The Roosters now have plenty of up & coming talent. Whether they’re playing for the Central Coast Roosters, in Queensland, the Bears or anywhere else. Don’t see many of the best of those players who may get a go in first grade , being bought by other clubs. As money is the key! No matter what though. So many of the youngsters that may have a chance by coming through the Roosters pathways. Will never get a go. As the Roosters will continue to buy up the Tedesco’s, Keary’s , Walker’s, Smith’s of the competition.
Paul
Guest
Yes John . That’s true. Interesting that you used Soccer as an example. Many English clubs only survive by developing players. That they then sell on, For A Transfer Fee! See where this is going? By the way. You’re only partly correct. Plenty of local team shirt wearing British people. Lots of support for teams in every division. Plus every other supporters second favourite team , is any team that defeats Man U! This year, that’s happened more often!
Paul
Guest
Spot On!!! :thumbup:
Westie
Guest
Do you know what the biggest difference there is? Money! No matter how good any juniors may be that the Roosters get from other areas. Plus now the Central Coast. They’ve still got plenty of money to buy many of the best first graders around. No matter if they’re premiers , second, third . The salary cap is never a problem for the Roosters! That’s just Amazing!
Paul
Guest
That’s interesting. So Brisbane have the largest pathways program. Yet each year Brisbane officials & scouts turn up for Penrith area junior tournaments. To see who they can poach from Penrith. That’s just a fact! Penrith had to plead with Brisbane to please not take a couple of the areas most talented young halves a few years ago. So even with the biggest pathways program, Brisbane still have to take Penrith juniors.
EastOfDivide
Guest
Why do the wealthier clubs get salary cap concessions? They’re allowed to legally spend way over the cap each year , with the use of Independent Corporate Sponsorships. That pay a good chunk of many of their players contracts. Then they’re allowed to spend pretty much whatever they like on players in various other teams that are feeder clubs for them. In Queensland, NSW. They can have several Teams as feeder clubs in A grade etc. Talk about Salary Cap Concessions! If you don’t want any concessions, when is all of that going to stop?
EastOfDivide
Guest
Crichton was good at Penrith. Bulldogs destroyed him!
Paul
Guest
I watched the trial game against Cronulla. Not a lot that you can really take from a trial game. However, looked like some talented back rowers there to me. Backs as well.
Limping Rabbits
Guest
Yes.. Where did he come from before that? Glenmore Park! Believe what you wish?
Westie
Guest
Again, where do all the decent halves at Canberra, Cronulla, etc fit into first grade? You wouldn’t know what plans Penrith had for young Katoa? They’d already let Brendan Hands go. Burton was off to the Bulldogs. You also wouldn’t know if Penrith bought back local junior O’Sullivan , after they actually knew what Katoa had planned to do?
EastOfDivide
Guest
I think you’ll find that I’m just adding a comment onto the list, as a reply to Larry 1950 . Looks like Westie was pretty much doing the same thing a couple of times to me. Larry is the one saying about Kikua & the sour grapes. When Kikau was just a late blow in at a feeder club for the cowboys.
DNZ
Guest
Suaalii went to the Kings School which is nowhere near South Sydney so not sure how much I believe that to be true.
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Perhaps young Katoa has a bit of moral fiber and intestinal fortitude than some Panthers players and staff, so he was not comfortable playing for a club where the half back moves a conversion 20m to gain an unfair advantage (cheating) , or where a trainer stops the game for a sore ankle to halt an attacking play (cheating) ?
Nat
Roar Guru
If you read the whole thread you might understand that I am talking about NQ juniors and to a larger extent development clubs. Instead of arguing the same point as Westie has failed with, try to under that this isn't an "against Penrith" comment.
Nat
Roar Guru
Did you really come back 2 days later to contradict yourself? I'll give you a few more days to find where your mistake is. Tip: it has nothing to do with the Sydney teams.
EastOfDivide
Guest
Did Penrith complain about Maika Sivo going to Parramatta? He’d been at Penrith as long or longer that Kikua was at the Cowboys. Not only didn’t they bring Sivo right through their junior system. They didn’t offer him a further contract after the couple of years he’d been there. Just the same as Kikau for the Cowboys. Except Kikau wasn’t even playing in the main Cowboys teams. He was playing for a feeder club. If you going to try & find an example of something To use against Penrith. At least use apples for apples. Kikau was hardly the Cowboys junior star , that they desperately wanted to keep at the club!
Westie
Guest
Did they bring Kikau through their junior development system, from a being a youngster all the way up to being ready for first grade level? NOPE! What you’re saying is like the Roosters & South’s claim.. ‘We bought him from somewhere else & had him for a whole 2 years . Look what a great job we did developing him’! All that time! Whoopie! Should get a medal for all that time used in developing players from say 16-18! ????
Westie
Guest
Well the likes of the Roosters, South’s, Titans, Newcastle, Cronulla, Dolphins, Brisbane, Melbourne. Have unfair amounts of independent Corporate Sponsorships, wealthy individual backers to unfairly bring them the most talented players as well. With more to spend in every area such as NSW Cup, Intrust Cup in Queensland etc. They also use the Corporate Sponsorships for payments , as part of players contracts. Outside of the Salary Cap. How about putting every club on an even money footing & all that extra money be split evenly amongst all clubs? If all the club can really afford to do is be a development club. They should at least get some advantage from paying for the juniors development that they do. You’re complaining about unfair amounts of area for junior development. If you’re going there, let’s even up the money divide as well!
Adam Fritz
Guest
I wonder what the relationship between Isaiya Katoa and Ivan Cleary was like? If it was good it seems strange the kid would leave home. Or is this another example of what Cleary did to the Tigers (loosing Tedesco etc). Winning a premiership with the best talent from Penrith to the border that had played together for years only confirms Cleary has some tactical skills to develop a game plan. If I was Alexander I would not be throwing stones at the NRL who already provide over $10M to each club. I would be urgently making sure Cleary had a coach above him that can manage players to ensure what he did to the Tigers doesn’t happen at Penrith.