The NRL has scrapped the controversial August mid-season signing loophole, moving the deadline back to June 30 in a move CEO Andrew Abdo says will protect the integrity of the competition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
NRL clubs were sent new salary cap guidelines for 2024 and beyond last week, with several changes to player contracting and rostering rules.
As previously reported, clubs will have 10 days to up the ante and try and keep players once they receive offers from rivals before a transfer can be ratified by the NRL.
But there are several other changes in effect from next season in an 18-page document sent to clubs last week.
Most notably, players will no longer be able to shift clubs after June 30, ending a three-year alteration to rules that allowed movement until the first Monday in August.
Initially only intended for the COVID-affected 2021 season, the rule had drawn the ire of fans and club bosses in the past 18 months.
It means moves such as Tevita Pangai Jr's from Brisbane to Penrith in 2021 will no longer be legal, unless the transfer is complete by the midway point of the season in June.
Struggling clubs had used the August deadline to clear salary cap space once out of finals contention, doing away with big-name players to assist their following year's books.
Other moves included David Nofoaluma's to Melbourne in 2022 and Matt Lodge to the Sydney Roosters last year, both of whom played finals football on short-term deals taking up little cap space.
However under new rules supported by clubs, the NRL and players' union, those would not be possible unless the signing was complete before June 30 when most clubs are still a mathematical chance of making the top eight.
"This gets the balance right," Abdo told AAP.
"It allows clubs to plan their rosters for the second half of the season based on injuries and player availability, while making sure there aren't changes at the end of the season which impact the integrity of the competition."
In other changes, clubs will also be able to field supplementary players outside their top 30 at any point in the season without an exemption from 2024.
Under previous rules, supplementary players had only been able to play after round 11, unless a club had significant shortages.
And players developed by clubs with less than six matches of experience in state cup or the NRL will no longer be able to be approached by rivals until after round six of the final year of their contract.
It means early approaches such as the Dolphins' to former Penrith teenager Isaiya Katoa would have been delayed under the new rules.
All other players can be approached from November 1 during the final 12 months of their contract, but the NRL will form a working group with the clubs and players' union to review the system and determine if a better model can be implemented.
Australian Associated Press
