CANBERRA Raiders recruitment manager Peter Mulholland is confident development won't be a scapegoat in the NRL's quest to slash costs in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
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Recent confirmation the salary cap will be unaffected, despite a new broadcast deal bringing in less revenue, means some in the game are concerned grassroots development will be one of the biggest areas hit.
But Mulholland is adamant the game will learn from the mistakes of the past, especially in areas like the Riverina where rugby league competes heavily with Australian Rules.
The Raiders have established academies in the Riverina and a number of local players are involved in their Jersey Flegg and Harold Matthews squads.
Canberra brought a home match against Penrith to Wagga last year, and will play in the city again next season as part of a two year deal.
"I can't see a big cut coming in that space, to be honest," Mulholland said.
"I think 'lessons from the past' would indicate there's no way in the world that they should be looking at drastically cutting development.
"You've got to get players from somewhere, they don't grow on trees and you can't keep buying them from England.
"Your clubs based on leagues club support (like Canberra), part of their charter is to do development. The Raiders Group put lot of money into junior league in the district, and those clubs probably aren't going to suffer as much as I would say privately owned clubs who look to cut.
"Development is cost effective. What you're doing is not only are you producing players for the professional game, you're also keeping the game alive at grass roots level, and for licensed clubs it's an important of your charter."
All NRL development officers are currently on temporary paid leave as the game looks to emerge from the enforced layoff in as strong a shape as possible.
"Those blokes down there, they're a vital part of our game. We all depend of them, it's so important," Mulholland said.
"They're astute, have been at the top level of the game and know what they're talking about. You can always see if a player can play or not, but they give you an insight into their character and know what their inner workings are.
"(Australian Rugby League Commission chairman) Peter V'landys is wise enough to listen to reason about these things, and I don't think that would be number one on his agenda for cuts.
"I think you'll find a lot of it will come from reducing administration costs and stuff like that."
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