LEADING rugby league agent, Craig Harrison of Show Me The Money UK, has revealed his disappointment at the loss of Huddersfield Giants star Will Pryce and Wigan Warriors man Kai Pearce-Paul to the NRL.
It was announced yesterday by NRL side Newcastle Knights that both men would be linking up with the Hunter club for the 2024 season and beyond.
But, for Harrison, the deals are a marker of where Super League currently lies in relation to the Australian competition and the struggle that IMG faces in lifting up UK rugby league.
“As a lover of Super League I am disappointed, but it is inevitable and I will be involved in deals like that myself,” Harrison admitted on the Show Me The Money UK TV podcast.
“If these young stars have got dreams to play in the biggest competition in the world, they will do so. It is up to our game and IMG to get them to stay.
“We shouldn’t be losing our top young talent because the game doesn’t allow clubs, with the salary cap, to keep them.”
That being said, Harrison revealed that he would also have liked both Pryce and Pearce-Paul to stay for a few more years rather than leaving so early on in their careers.
“I would have liked both players to get more on their journey. It says to a lot to our players, but I hope all those who are under 23 years of age don’t think ‘right we are off’ after one good year.
“I think you have got to earn that right, the Australian market is coming for the top young players in England – they are actively seeking them.
“The Australia agents are saying ‘come with us and we can take you to the promised land’ and clubs are finding it hard to keep them.
“IMG and the clubs need to address it, I think it will always happen whilst we’ve got the salary cap.
“If we had people who could afford to keep them then I think they would stay.”
