National Rugby League CEO Dave Smith "has outlined his plan to double club membership numbers" by '17 as part of what he has called a ''massive cultural shift'' across the code, according to Glenn Jackson of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Smith: ''It's the biggest single thing the game's done, in terms of members, ever. And it won't just be a one-off.'' The plan, which has the backing of the 16 clubs, "comes in two parts;" a short-term push for a membership spike in '14, before the longer-term effort; doubling the current number of roughly 220,000 members across the clubs would create, he estimated, about A$50M ($47M). Smith: ''I'm more ambitious than that, but I think that doubling the membership base in three or four years is a big enough task, so that's where we'll start'' (SMH, 11/8). In Brisbane, Peter Badel reported NRL Gold Coast Titans CEO Graham Annesley "has expressed concerns about a transfer window" as momentum gathers for the Australian Rugby League Commission to "introduce a mid-season trading period." NRL Operations Chief Jim Doyle is "presiding over a sweeping salary cap probe, with some NRL stakeholders throwing their support behind a transfer window next season." Under the proposal, clubs "would be able to trade players for a nominated period after round six." The Rugby League PA sees merit in a transfer window. Annesley: "I would have to be convinced. Based on what used to happen around the June 30 rule and the claims of tampering, the biggest problem with that mid-season stuff is it distracts from what we are doing on a week-to-week basis on the field" (COURIER-MAIL, 11/8).
