I've been thinking along similar lines myself for a while. The death of the intermediate academy system is a great opportunity for the rationalisation of Reserve levels. As much as we've incentivised clubs to up player supply, if the league is really dedicated to evening out competition, then the player pathway should be held by everyone and open to everyone.

Doesn't have any bearing on the Golden Ticket idea though imo. It's interesting, I'll give them that - and it's nice to see at least someone has read some undergraduate economics textbooks with the well-defined-property-rights aspect.

It's not perfect, but would deliver a route to better player development across the league. Teams like Cas have always produced great talent but then can't afford to keep them

See that's it, the rich clubs now like Wigan and Leeds are developing kids because they have money to burn that they can't spend on their first team. They produce an excess amount of players and the ones that don't make the first teams of those teams get picked up by everyone else.

It makes sense why the bottom feeders don't want change.

Cas do well but I suspect they have this as a very deliberate money stream, they've cottoned on if they give promising young lads a contract they can sell them on at a profit. They bleat on about not being able to keep of them but I wouldn't be surprised if they are touting out all these players that leave behind closed doors.

No doubt they need the money, but are bigger clubs like Wigan doing the same? The amount of players sold from Wigan in the last 5 yrs is staggering

I guess the only difference is that the salary cap dictates our behaviour (we could compete for wages without it) whereas that's not necessarily the same for other selling clubs. We cash in because we can't keep people beyond their contract even though we have the means and the desire to; they cash in because they wouldn't have the means.

But good point.

I doubt they're touting them out though. I'm sure if Hock had a better attitude and the NRL didn't cherry pick the bones out of them offering them terms Wigan aren't allowed to match, they'd probably still be there.
It must grate knowing they have the financial power to stop it but hands are tied because Wakefield and Bradford are mismanaged.

The other part of that, is if as a club you are producing a lot of very good youngsters (Wigan five academy titles in six years) then you have to let players move on to make room for them. I accept that there is a bit of risk in that strategy but it seems to be working at the moment.

The BIG risk is that you have too many young players in the team at once.

The test of that will be next season. The homegrown rule means you can compete on wages, but does your management have the desire to? If Micky mc and Charnley go you may have an answer

Charnley could be replaced from within (Manfredi, very similar in style) Replacing Mick Mac would be a problem, and maybe we would have to buy in, but the money is available for that (Daryl Clark?). There is a very good young hooker, Luke Waterworth, coming through the systems but I think he is three or four years away from being a regular first team forward.

Do you think they're both going? Does IL not even try to keep these players?