Canberra Raiders CEO Don Furner backs proposed NRL transfer window, but RLPA shoots it down

But the Rugby League Players' Association quickly moved to shoot the idea down because it didn't respect the players and would turn into a "meat market".

The proposal would see off-contract players only able to sign with another club after the NRL grand final in their final season and up until the Monday before round one the following year.

Contracted players could also move, with mutual consent from their club, during that same transfer window - as well as one mid-season after round 10 until the Monday after State of Origin III.

Furner liked the idea.

He also felt it would remove the chance of finals-bound clubs cherry picking players from weaker clubs to bolster their premiership chances.

The Melbourne Storm and the Sydney Roosters were two clubs who did this in the lead-up to this year's finals campaign.

"There's a lot of different proposals to work through with the RLPA and the NRL, that's one of them," Furner said.

"Sometimes we don't all agree. I think it might be a good thing for the game.

"Certainly I didn't agree with players leaving and playing for other clubs for a couple of weeks before the semis, helping other teams make the semis.

"If I was a fan or a member I wouldn't like to see that."

But RLPA chief executive Clint Newton moved quickly to pour cold water on the concept.

The NRL has been constantly criticised for its current trade system, which allowed players to sign future deals with rival clubs when they still have a season to run on their contracts.

Josh Hodgson, Viliame Kikau, Reed Mahoney and Jesse Bromwich were among the high-profile players to have done so ahead of the 2023 season.

While Newton said the RLPA was willing to revise the current system, he criticised the NRL's proposal, which would give players five months rather than almost a year-and-a-half to finalise contracts.

"Don't let the fancy Americanised words fool you, it's not about trades and transfers, this is about restraints and restrictions that the game are looking to put on players," he said on SEN.

"We certainly oppose what's put forward. Is there an opportunity to make some positive changes? Sure, and we've been open to that.

"Anything that we've seen so far certainly falls well short of the expectations and certainly doesn't fairly respect the risk the players undertake when they play such a high-speed, high-collision, high-risk sport."

Newton said the NRL's proposal did not include compensation for players in exchange for the amendments.

He also questioned how new or struggling clubs could become competitive if given only a short window to build or reshape their playing list.

"[Transfer windows] in other sports come with improved terms and conditions in other areas for players. This proposal doesn't have that counterbalance," Newton said.

"If these restrictions were in place over the last 12 months, how does the NRL propose [incoming side] the Dolphins secure a roster for 2023? It makes no sense.

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"How does a club that is looking to rebuild after an unsuccessful season, do that at their discretion throughout a football calendar year, when we just end up having a meat market at the end of the year?"

Newton said in a short transfer window, star players would become the priority, with others suffering as a result.

"The majority of players are at the bottom end of the list: the battlers, the ones that we're meant to look after," he said.

"They'll just get pushed to the side until later in the piece. For me, that's fundamentally wrong."

- with AAP

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