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NRL won't open war chest to stop rugby union defections

By AAP
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Andrew Abdo has declared the NRL will not open a war chest to stop players moving to rugby union, claiming he is unfazed by Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s defection.

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Suaalii has signed a three-year deal with Rugby Australia to move to the 15-man code from October 2024, after his management informed the Sydney Roosters he would leave the club next year.

The shift will allow Suaalii to play for Australia against the British & Irish Lions in 2025, with a World Cup ahead in 2027, while representing the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby.

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His move is rugby’s biggest coup out of the NRL in two decades, after Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri all crossed codes in the early 2000s.

Several years later, league great Israel Folau made his own high-profile move to rugby via a brief spell in the AFL.

The NRL experimented with the idea of a war chest to stop players from leaving the code in 2014, with the plan first floated by then chief executive David S mith.

The financial package was never used and current CEO Abdo said there was no need to reintroduce the scheme to retain players tempted by the lure of rugby money.

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“The beauty is, we don’t have to,” Abdo told ABC Radio.

“We have increased funding to clubs so we have viable clubs. And the commission have focused on making sure the salary in our new offer is a significant increase.

“The salary cap level that it is at the moment, and the growth for men and women, we are going to be attracting athletes of the future. That is exciting.”

Abdo stressed he had no concerns about a talent drain to rugby, after months of threats by new Wallabies coach Eddie Jones to lure the 13-man game’s best players.

“Good luck to any player who wants to go and play another code, that’s great for them,” Abdo said.

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“Good luck to any other code, if they are thinking about a rugby league pathway to access talent.

“We are focused on our pathway. We want to make sure we have young p eople in schools and clubs.

“This game, what I love about it, is how many talented athletes we keep producing across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.”

Roosters teammate Luke Keary said he expected Suaalii to follow a similar path to Sonny Bill Williams, who had two stints in both codes.

“We know this is happening, and good on him,” Keary told Triple M.

“His main thing is he wants to win a premiership. He hasn’t spoken about rugby too much. I know he is all-in with us.

“We are about to see a Sonny Bill-esque type career. He finishes that World Cup if he goes, he will be 24 years old. Hopefully we see him again in the NRL after that.”

In a statement on Saturday, Suaalii pledged to continue giving his all to the Roosters for the duration of his time with the club.

“There’s still a long way to go in my journey with the Roosters and my sole focus is on working hard every day to keep improving and performing my role for the team,” he said.

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Bull Shark 46 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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