Pulver wants Super Draft

[travelling_gerry]

ARU chief executive Bill Pulver has advocated the introduction of a draft for Australia's five Super Rugby teams.

Pulver believes such a move would help distribute playing talent between the five teams and provide a promotional vehicle for the game.

"I quite like the idea of a draft," he said. "There are multiple benefits. One is you will distribute the talent more evenly among the franchises to create more of an equal playing field. Two is I want to give those young players a profile in the game.

"Imagine if you are draft pick No 1. Suddenly you are on the Australian rugby map.

"I don't know how many kids would put their name into the draft. Ultimately, these kids would get into a Super Rugby program which accelerates their development considerably.

"If you've got a terrific young lock who goes into the Queensland franchise as one of their draft players and is training alongside James Horwill and playing in a Super B team-type competition, I've got to believe he is going to develop in a far more accelerated way and be ready to compete at Super Rugby level.

"Enhancing the profile of the game overall would be an additional benefit," he added.
Pulver said the draft concept was being considered by the ARU's rugby commission, which included the Super Rugby chief executives, the Rugby Union Players Association and club rugby representatives.

"It's an idea being developed," Pulver said.

"Are we absolutely locked in that we are going to do this? No, we are not. But we've got a pathway to make a decision over the course of the next couple of months."

Pulver said the ARU was also considering decentralising the national academy system, which is based in Sydney and Brisbane.

The ARU set up the centralised academy system a few years ago to reduce costs but the move was unpopular with the Super Rugby franchises, which preferred to run their own academies.

"If we went to this model (draft), an alternative may be to have smaller academies in each franchise that would go hand in hand," Pulver said. "The Brisbane and Sydney academies in my view have been doing a very good job, but the missing link is the acceleration of development at a higher level capable of playing Super Rugby.

"The question is whether we can afford both. We are a bit resource-constrained at the ARU, so we've got to pick our targets carefully."

In a significant development, Pulver has described the proposed Super B program as a "second-level" competition rather than a third-tier, which would be filled by club rugby.

"One of the concepts we are developing is the Super B or universities-type competition where we have a second level of competition at the Super Rugby level with a specific objective to accelerate the development of elite talent capable of competing more effectively at a Super Rugby level," Pulver said.

"Importantly, this is not a third-tier. The third-tier is club rugby. This is simply additional depth of elite player development at a Super Rugby level. The concept is they would play a curtain-raiser for the two home games of Super Rugby every week.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...-1226613604065

[Alison]

I like the sound of both ideas very much. Oh what a joy to have a CEO who, on the face of it, is willing to really move and shake!!

[GAFFA]

This is going to piss off a few qlders
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[Scozzie]

The draft system seems to do a reasonably good job in the G-ayFL and American Football, and it would certainly help to distribute the talent coming through to the teams that need it. But, they'd need to look at some sort of retention policy, to stop players making their mark at a "so-called lower profile team", then moving off to a "so-called higher profile team".

[James]

Forget the draft. How about all ARU top up money being spread evenly between the franchises?

[TOCC]

Won't happen, too many legal implications and RUPA are against it.
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[SNOB]

Forget the draft. How about all ARU top up money being spread evenly between the franchises?

I take it you mean that those selected would play for the Wallabies for the pride of representing their country.
I like it.

[shasta]

The draft system seems to do a reasonably good job in the G-ayFL

I have my doubts about that. The AFL model has produced a competition which produces far too many predictable results with a hand full of clubs that are thriving, a lot who are just treading water and a few struggling to stay afloat. The NRL model seems to work best where each club is responsible for it's own contracting from it's allocated salary cap. Rep players are paid by match payments.

I think the NRL model is best suited to Australian Rugby. There will always be those who will protest and say the current Wallaby top-up contracting system is necessary to keep the best players here. I say suck it and see. I reckon the majority of players will still value the gold jersey. If this model fails then simply continue to tweak it until we get something that works.

[jono]

Won't happen, too many legal implications and RUPA are against it.
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That and the ES clubs would be broke within 5 years

[jargan83]

TOCC is on the money regarding RUPA

The ARL tried to being in a draft in the mid 90's if I'm not mistaken and it was challenged in court by the players union, Terry Hill come to mind?

The draft in the AFL isn't the be all. The well known issue of tanking for defy picks because the AFL system rewards mediocrity with the priority pick system where if you lose a certain amount of games over a proof of time you get a bonus pick.

Shasta is correct where the AFL is fairly predictable with usually only 3 or 4 genuine premiership contenders and the rest of the top 8 making up the numbers but a top 8 set up is going I be around while tv networks fund sport with tv rights. The free agency clauses brought in recently in the AFL will be interesting to watch over time.

Again I agree with Shasta in saying the NRL model is probably the best model to potentially use. Scrap wallaby top ups an give the money to the states
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[beige]

Not a fan of a draft myself, unless it's maybe a 'supplementary' draft like they do in NZ.

[AndyS]

So many of these issues go away if they just bite the bullet and focus on re-establishing an ARC competition. Drafting players into Super rugby is retarded when you look at how many players go through the various academies, how long some of them stay there and how few eventually make the grade. If they were all playing the level below, they could play locally until it became apparent whether they have what it takes. Then they can decide for themselves if they are willing to move for a professional contract.

[Woolfe]

IMHO this will not help The Force or rugby outside of NSW/Queensland.

We need to be able to recruit up to say 10 overseas players and start winning games. Once we win more people will want to be part of it, more players, supporters, $$$ etc. Long term strategy.

The players from the eastern states do not want to stay in Perth. They have no roots here.

As you can see from any Wallabies Springboks game in Perth the South Africans love it here. We should be targeting young South Africans and their families.

Pullup is a politician not a fixer so this won't happen.

Rant over.

[jono]

W need to target Argentinian players as well.
I'm surprised that we haven't seen any of them rexpressing an interest to come to one of the SANAR nations. I believe it's a matter of time. But to do this - and help the pumas be more competitive in the rugby championship there needs to e a dispensation in relation to players available available for Argentinian selection that doesn't effect our already allocated 2 foreign spots.

The only team the pumas will have a chance to beat is th wallabies this year methinks

[The InnFORCEr]

The players from the eastern states do not want to stay in Perth. They have no roots here.

Ever heard of Sharpe, Hodgson, Brown?