Melbourne Storm second-rower Ryan Hoffman has stated he would be "a big fan" of an NRL draft if the game's governing body decided to introduce it into rugby league.
Speaking to SEN 1116's Andy Maher and Andrew Gaze on Melbourne radio on Tuesday morning, the 30-year old forward supported the idea first reported in The Daily Telegraph whereby the NRL would explore adopting a similar style to the AFL's draft model, spreading the pool of young talent across the 16 clubs.
"I follow my American sports quite closely and I love the way the draft works over there, we've got the model in Australia with the AFL so there's a perfect model to follow," Hoffman told SEN 1116.
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"I'm a big fan of the draft, I like the fact that it spreads talent across the competition and it also keeps the game in the spotlight throughout the off season as well.
"One of the main concerns with it is we have a very strong tradition in rugby league in having local juniors producing local kids to come through the comp.
"I like the fact the NRL have also floated the idea of having five players from each junior area exempt from the (salary) cap so they can come through their local organisation or the local organisation has first dibs at them so to speak.
"I reckon that would be a good way to transition the game into having a draft."
I may be the minority but I think a Draft would be great. Spreads talent and keeps footy in the spotlight throughout the offseason.
— Ryan Hoffman (@RyanHoffman12) August 11, 2014Would you support the NRL bringing a draft into rugby league? Tell us your thoughts, tweet us @storm.
