The Rugby Football League is subsidizing the club wages of "elite" England talent in its "growing attempts to try and halt the player drain" to the National Rugby League and rugby union, according to Aaron Bower of the London GUARDIAN. However, some clubs, which do not have any such players in their ranks, are "angry that they were not informed about the plan." A "number of teams" were, until recently, "unaware" that the RFL was contributing roughly £25,000 ($31,200) "to the wages of some of Super League's top stars." It is the "latest ploy" from the RFL to "try and retain the best talent in the Super League." RFL COO Roger Draper said last week that "cricket-style contracts are being considered to not only improve player retention, but repair strained relations between some clubs and the governing body after a tumultuous off-season for the sport." Draper conceded that rugby league has "had its problems of late" but the former CEO of the Lawn Tennis Association -- who began his role with the RFL late last year -- said that "his remit is to try and make it as exciting as possible" in '17. Draper: "There are some things we're doing really well and some things we're not, clearly. ... We've got to make sure the experience for our fans is much better. People go to rugby for the experience, not just the game, so if we're going to widen our fanbase then we need to do things differently there" (GUARDIAN, 2/6).
