The NRL has commited to investigating compensation for junior development by next season, Head of Football Todd Greenberg highlighting the Canberra Raiders as one of the clubs who deserve to be recognised for their ''heavy lifting'' at the grassroots level.
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The Raiders have been one of the main agitators for concessions, concerned their juniors continue to be poached by rivals once the club has spent thousands of dollars on their development and they reach NRL maturity. The Raiders and Wests Tigers have both threatened to cut back junior development funding.
But at a meeting of the 16 NRL club chairmen on Thursday, officials endorsed a proposal to investigate junior concessions as part of the NRL's planned differentiated funding model by 2015.
While at present all NRL clubs receive the same annual grant of about $7 million, a differential funding model would recognise the different strenths and weaknesses of all clubs. Instead of dividing funds equally to all 16 clubs, it would set individual targets and could provide funding incentives for areas such as junior development, and compensate for inequalities in broadcasting opportunity, corporate sponsorship and membership.
Raiders chairman Allan Hawke said he was encouraged by the presentation on Thursday.
''They're going to have a specific look at the junior development issue and one of the things they're looking at is the differentiated funding model or whether there would be some allowance in the salary cap for those clubs that develop players,'' Hawke said.
Greenberg confirmed funding for junior development was on the game's immediate agenda, but there would not be any ''knee-jerk reaction''. He said the NRL was hoping to introduce the differentiated funding model by 2015, with junior concessions a possible component.
''There's a focus on making sure clubs are rewarded for the work they do in developing local juniors – that should be fundamental,'' Greenberg said.
''It's clear that some areas like Canberra have a bigger base to draw [from], but to do that they have to spend some money, so the game needs to recognise that. So that's what we'll do through concessions, [salary] cap relief or a differentiated funding model.
''i think there's a lot of clubs doing a lot of heavy lifting at the bottom – when I say the bottom, I mean the bottom of the junior development base – and Canberra's one of those clubs.
''Talking to [Canberra chief executive] Don Furner at the Raiders, I understand principally what he's talking about. They're developing talent in a local region and he's looking for advantages for his club in order to retain those players. He makes a good point and we've got to continue to find ways to ensure our clubs continue to invest in junior development.''
Greenberg said there were no concerns at the NRL about the long-term viability of the Raiders to be a competitive outfit, given Canberra has struggled to recruit marquee players. Tigers fullback James Tedesco, Melbourne Storm forward Kevin Proctor and Penrith winger Josh Mansour have all turned down more money from the Raiders to stay with their existing clubs.
But Greenberg, former chief executive of the Bulldogs, said the game was ''cyclical''.
''This is a great club, a proud club and a historic club, and it'll attract good players,'' Greenberg said of the Raiders. ''They're going through a tough spot at the moment but we have great faith they'll turn it around.
''They'll attract good players here that will happen over time, but it won't happen overnight. I've seen some of Ricky Stuart's comments in recent weeks about being patient, and I think that's great advice to local people in Canberra.''
