{"id":198791,"date":"2025-10-08T22:04:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T22:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198791\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T22:04:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T22:04:06","slug":"paul-crawley-column-analysis-why-november-1-system-needs-fixing-afl-style-trade-window-kevin-walters-nrl-coaching-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198791\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Crawley column, analysis, Why November 1 system needs fixing, AFL-style trade window, Kevin Walters NRL coaching future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here we go again. November 1 is just around the corner and the NRL player market turns into its annual circus.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a dead-set gee-up that the Rugby League Players Association has been allowed to get this stranglehold over the game in recent years.<\/p>\n

Where every player coming off contract \u2014 but not until the end of next season \u2014 is \u2018free\u2019 to start negotiating with rival clubs now.<\/p>\n

The reason it is done this way is because, apparently, the players need a full year in advance to come to terms with where their next club will be.<\/p>\n

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Yet that still doesn\u2019t stop them up and leaving at a moment\u2019s notice during the season, or at the end of the season for that matter, if it works in their (or their agents) best interests.<\/p>\n

And yes, clubs are just as guilty as the players when it comes to shafting someone when it suits them.<\/p>\n

But seriously, who are they kidding thinking all this needs to be done 12 months ahead of when an existing contract expires?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been said it a thousand times before, if you\u2019re working for a company and then sign with a rival organisation, chances are your current employer won\u2019t let you stick around for the next 12 months to put your feet up on the desk.<\/p>\n

Yet the RLPA have convinced us this is the way it needs to be.<\/p>\n

This is despite the fact there has been a multitude of stories about players planning to exit their existing clubs to start somewhere else next season.<\/p>\n

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So do they really need a full year to get their lives in order before they move on _ or don\u2019t they?<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t think of another professional sporting code in the world that has to put up with players agreeing to join a new club more than a season out of the end of their existing deal.<\/p>\n

So why the NRL allows it is beyond me.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s high time everyone in the game got together and did what was in the best interests of the fans \u2014 and agreed to an end-of-season trade window like they do in the AFL.<\/p>\n

For the following season, not the year after that.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just crazy that the grand final has just been decided and within days the biggest story driving the NRL news cycle is where Payne Haas could be in 2027.<\/p>\n

Yet I had to laugh the other day when I read that Haas had postponed talks with the rebel rugby group R360 because Haas\u2019 agent wanted to be certain that they are not in breach of NRL rules.<\/p>\n

Seriously, when did breaking the rules ever stand in the way of a player agent previously?<\/p>\n

But if it\u2019s not Haas we\u2019re reading about, it\u2019s Ryan Papenhuyzen, or Zac Lomax, or Jye Gray who are being courted by R360, all with more than a year or more to run on their existing contract.<\/p>\n

Yet it\u2019s not just those considering a cross-code jump who fans have to read about.<\/p>\n

Same deal with Tommy Turbo at Manly.<\/p>\n

Turbo\u2019s future has been a topic of discussion for months already, causing angst for him and his club, despite the fact he has until the end of next year remaining on his existing deal.<\/p>\n

It goes on and on.<\/p>\n

Is Luke Metcalf staying or leaving the Warriors (at the end of next season)?<\/p>\n

Is young Roosters five-eighth Hugo Savala staying, or is Savala still waiting to see what Daly Cherry-Evans is doing?<\/p>\n

Papenhuyzen to leave after GF defeat? | 01:27<\/p>\n

Which reminds me, wasn\u2019t the DCE to the Roosters deal supposed to done and dusted by now (after it was announced early in the season this would be Cherry-Evans\u2019 last at Manly)?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fair dinkum joke that Sea Eagles fans had to put up with this all season, and still it drags on.<\/p>\n

It just further highlights why it is utter nonsense having the November 1 free agency deadline in the first place.<\/p>\n

Because before the DCE deal is even sorted out, now comes another wave of contract stories to feed the news cycle for the next 12 months.<\/p>\n

And you just know it is going to create more chaos for everyone involved.<\/p>\n

Yet Lachie Galvin walks out on Wests Tigers midseason and joins the Bulldogs immediately _ with 18 months left on his contract \u2014 and that\u2019s supposedly okay too.<\/p>\n

Now we are reading via the SMH that Jack Bird and Nathan Brown are in negotiations for a \u201csurprise player swap\u201d for next year because apparently it \u201chas the potential to benefit both parties\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fair dinkum, it just makes this entire process a farce.<\/p>\n

WILL KANGAROOS BE KEVVIE\u2019S TICKET BACK INTO NRL COACHING?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve witnessed Michael Maguire\u2019s coaching resurrection at the Broncos coming on the back of his success with the Kiwis and the Blues.<\/p>\n

So why can\u2019t coaching the Kangaroos be Kevvie Walters\u2019s ticket to put his name back in the spotlight?<\/p>\n

Walters has never shied away from the fact he\u2019d love another crack at coaching in the NRL.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year he conceded as much when his name was thrown up as a possible contender for the Perth Bears job.<\/p>\n

While Walters ultimately missed out to Mal Meninga, coaching the Kangaroos in the upcoming Ashes series against England could open the door to future offers.<\/p>\n

Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

What Maguire has done to salvage his reputation from the man who was previously sacked by Wests Tigers and Souths is one of the most miraculous coaching comebacks of the modern game.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never forget how Shane Richardson vowed Maguire would have a job for life after taking the Rabbitohs to their drought-breaking premiership win in 2014.<\/p>\n

Richardson said at the time: \u201cHe is contracted here until 2017, but he will be here as long as he wants to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is like a Wayne Bennett or a Craig Bellamy because he is always reinventing himself and going to the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, yes, he could be our Wayne Bennett. He wants this to be a great club and remain a great club.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

As it turned out, Maguire was gone within three years.<\/p>\n

The point in going over old ground is that some are now saying Maguire could become the next Bennett in Brisbane, and steer the Broncos to their own Panthers-like dynasty.<\/p>\n

Maybe that will turn out to be the case.<\/p>\n

And in no way is this downplaying the wonderful job Maguire did bringing the Broncos together this year and taking them to the next level.<\/p>\n

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Coates, Lomax withdraw from Ashes squad | 00:28<\/p>\n

But there is also no question Kevvie does not get enough credit for building the squad that Madge was blessed to take over.<\/p>\n

As Walters\u2019 injured son Billy hinted at in one of the most touching post grand final tributes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m obviously really feeling for Kev,\u201d Billy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to enjoy winning a premiership, but I just feel really sorry for him because it\u2019s a squad that he built.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should\u2019ve done this two years ago when we were here in 2023. Now he\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

It reminded me of the job Johnny Lang did helping to build the star-studded squad at Souths before Maguire arrived, that too often gets overlooked.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt Walters\u2019 reputation copped a massive hit with the way he was unceremoniously dumped amid all the talk that he just wasn\u2019t tough enough on the players.<\/p>\n

Yet maybe two years ago Maguire\u2019s tough guy approach would have also struggled coaching the Broncos, given their mental maturity at the time was obviously nowhere near where it was this year.<\/p>\n

The rise of Reece Walsh in the last month of this season is the perfect example of that.<\/p>\n

Was Walsh capable of doing what he did in the grand final two months ago, let alone two years ago?<\/p>\n

No way in the world.<\/p>\n

Was it Kevvie\u2019s fault that Walsh was not at that point of his development back then?<\/p>\n

No way in the world.<\/p>\n

And as Craig Bellamy said after this year\u2019s decider, people underestimate how hard it is getting to a grand final, let alone win one.<\/p>\n

If Kevvie does a good job with the Kangaroos, you just never know what might be around the corner if a club is brave enough to give him a second chance _ just like the Broncos were brave enough to gamble on Madge.<\/p>\n

NRL\u2019S SLEEPING GIANT NEEDS TO PULL HIS FINGER OUT<\/p>\n

Is the NRL\u2019s sleeping giant finally ready pull his finger out and start having a crack?<\/p>\n

David Fifita is the only forward in the game with the God-given talent to match Payne Haas.<\/p>\n

The difference over the course of their careers so far is that Haas has been prepared to work incredibly hard on and off the field, and by most reports Fifita hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

But with talk of Fifita\u2019s potential split with Gold Coast to join Wayne Bennett at South Sydney next year, you can only hope Fifita is ready to start making the most of his massive potential.<\/p>\n

David Fifita.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

At 25, Fifita is the same age as Haas \u2014 so it is not too late for Fifita to reinvent himself under Bennett.<\/p>\n

If he is seriously committed to putting the work in, he could end up being a huge signing for the Rabbitohs, with his best footballing years still potentially ahead of him.<\/p>\n

While Fifita\u2019s move to the Rabbitohs is yet to be finalised, it is expected he will be at the club in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here we go again. November 1 is just around the corner and the NRL player market turns into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-198791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}