Issac Luke has signed a three year deal with the Warriors. So why can't he play for them now? Photo / Getty Images
The league transfer system is widely regarded as shabby - we try to unravel this sporting minefield.
1) A rule banning players negotiating with other clubs prior to July 1 was largely ignored so the NRL introduced a response about seven years ago allowing players to renege on a new
contract up until June 30. This is about as messy as messy gets, as can be seen in the current Daly Cherry-Evans case. The Australian halfback-in-waiting has signed for the Titans but rumours persist the Sea Eagles will persuade him to remain in their camp. This rule has introduced the word backflip into the league lexicon. NRL boss David Smith is not alone in disliking the rule and says legal contracts should be binding. This rule is certain to be scrapped in a revamp.
2) Mid season player movements are rare in league, unlike football. But they do occur - for example, the unwanted Krisnan Inu left the Warriors in May 2012 to join the Roosters, and immediately discovered top form although it was predictably short lived.
3) Rugby league takes the slow-cooker transfers within its competition to bizarre extremes. James Maloney announced he was quitting the Warriors in late 2011, to join the Bulldogs for 2013. Maloney was not at his best for the Warriors in 2012, although the change of coach from Ivan Cleary to Brian McClennan didn't help that situation. With Maloney apparently not a fan of McClennan, he lacked enough incentive to give his all. Everybody wants these sorts of cases to become a thing of the past.
4) The word is that the NRL will introduce two transfers windows - a short mid-season one and another at the conclusion of the season until December 31. It isn't clear if players will actually move in the mid-season window, as occurs in football. The likelihood is that cases will be different. An open window policy would aim to remove the annoying subterfuge. A tricky consequence will be working out how the salary cap operates if mid-season transfers became the norm.
