So, was having a conversation about this yesterday.

Why are clubs allowed to negotiate contracts with other clubs players in May?

We are 1/3 or a bit more through the season only.

Also, you have teams like us and Cas who at present look to be at serious risk of relegation.

Because of this (again) we are likely unable to agree contracts to players and likely certain players won’t entertain our offers for 2024. This imo seriously puts clubs like us under pressure. Also it’s likely we would have to pay overs to convince players to sign.

It’s great for those consistent top teams ofcourse who I suppose get the pick of the lot but is this actually helping the sport as a whole?

Why can’t we open contract nagotiations at the end of regular season when the play offs start?


We would know the relegated team. Every team can guarantee SL the following year so there’s no apprehension and it’s fair to all 11 clubs (and also the promoted team to SL).

Just wondered why it’s may? When you look it seems heavily weighted to keep the top clubs sweeping the top players as they can offer security.


Why not Just move the window?

The current club has to confirm with the player whether or not they are looking to renew/review or extend the current contract, this has to be done by the end of April, this allows the players/agent to look for a new club. Without this you are then leaving a glut of players in limbo, they also need to know where their next pay cheque is coming from and you could argue that the individuals requirement for their future is more important than the club.

So if we take Crowther for example and issue a letter to renew is he unable to be spoken to by other clubs until a later date? While I understand what you say about the players future we are talking the season ending in August/September and pre season doesn’t start while January and season March. I’m not sure why 4/5 months isn’t adequate to secure your future/contract as a player.

In my eyes the club is more important of course the players future is more important to them personally which I get.

It still doesn’t change what I mentioned that it puts clubs at the wrong end of the table and promoted clubs on the back foot though.

If IMG are wanting a stronger comp then clubs like us facing uncertainty and having to delay and effectively pick up what’s left when we are safe isn’t strengthening the competition at all but just maintaining the rift between top and bottom.

Any player out of contract can talk to other clubs from now whether they have been/will be offered another deal, told no decision has been made or told they are no longer required.

The season ends mid to late September for non play off teams, the players contracts run out at the end of November, so it's just a five or six week gap before they are unemployed. And most teams pre-season is underway by early November at the latest, ours this year started on halloween. These are guys with families to feed and mortgages to pay just like anyone else so if we can't guarantee their future then it's perfectly reasonable that they seek more secure employment if they have the chance. Anybody would do the same and i don't see a problem with it. This is the idea of the grading system that is being brought in, become a grade A and clubs will have that security in the top flight and the problem you mention, which is correct, won't be a problem anymore.

But won’t it? It’s great for the top grade A clubs to be able to guarantee and continue to sweep up all the best talent in the league available. Clubs are graded on performance and having the pick due to offering security which other clubs aren’t only strengthens the A’s doesnt it?

So the clubs with B grade in SL will be left to pick up the rest and some will miss out on the top talent that’s gravitated towards the handful of grade A’s. The Bs will remain under the A’s in league table results and due to this it will be harder to attain the marks on performance won’t it?

We could effectively end up with two tiers in one table. A clubs miles ahead and the B clubs low/ mid table.

I don’t think the licensing will sort it at all. It will make it worse for the cat b clubs who can’t offer that security.

I understand what your saying on players but it’s heavily weighted towards players as it stands.

If the season ends in September and the pre season starts in December. Then that’s 2/3 months. Why not just open the window on 1st August? Why May? That’s all of August/Sept/Oct/Nov so 4 months to secure contracts.

If the players are good enough they will get a club and contract no problem.

Well the theory is that eventually all super league clubs will be a grade A so there wouldn’t be any tiers. Short term yes a divide will remain but the aim is it gets less and less over time until it no longer exists.

And as i’ve just said pre-season starts earlier than December. The players want security, and fair play to them, it’s their main source of income. The date is later for the lower league i think where most are part time. Hell in the NRL they can negotiate 12 months before! Now thats over the top. Yes it doesn’t help us as a club and even if by some miracle we survived this year we’d be back down the bottom next as most of they quality will be elsewhere when we go shopping. But it is what it is for now and it won’t be chsnging anytime soon.

That is what it is all about keeping the big clubs at the top .Think most of our supporters know we are down this season.What gets to me is that any decent player we have for S L ,when signed up by a S L club ,will not be giving is all for the club because he does not want to get injured for next season ,E.g. (Tom Johnson last year ,as soon as he had signed for Catalan we did not see him again .) Yet there is half a season to go

Remember this only applies to out of contract players.
If the clubs don't want to be in this position they need to give longer contracts or at least renegotiate shorter contracts earlier.

The cut off is rightly in favour of the player imo

No issues with the cut off, it is the clubs responsibility to be in a position to be able to plan for the future so it is nobody's fault but the club that we are in this position every year

It’s not the retention but the bringing in of new quality players that’s the issue for clubs like us and potentially B clubs.

Retention can be managed but to bring in a quality players asking them to sign for 2024 and beyond even we can’t guarantee SL (potentially with a couple other clubs) it really does for the most part rule us out of signing those quality players in the market.

Is there a better way I don’t know but I’d like to hope their is for a more competitive league.

It's no different to now. Getting a B is probably better than being in the bottom two

Retention is just as troublesome as recruitment, hence why we still have 8 unsigned contract offers to our own players! We will undoubtably lose guys we want to keep.