Thank God the League's just about to begin for 2017 !

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    Cameron Smith will spearhead a meeting of club captains with the NRL. (AAP)

    4 hours ago
    All 16 club captains will express their views on the state of the game when they meet with the NRL on the morning of the game's season launch on Wednesday.
    In what will be an NRL first, each skipper in the NRL will sit at the table with the governing body to discuss key issues such as football reforms, player recognition and leadership.
    The workshop is the result of a meeting between Australian skipper Cameron Smith and NRL boss Todd Greenberg in London last year, in an attempt to make the most of the launch.

    It is also seen as a key development in the relationship between the NRL and its players as talks continue in the collective bargaining agreement.
    Rugby League Players Association president Clint Newton said the game's elder statesmen have become a pivotal voice for their peers since the implementation of the last CBA in 2012.

    "One of the best things about the current playing group is we've got a number of the leading players that are 100 per cent supportive of looking after bottom-up," Newton told AAP.
    "We've got a good opportunity there to keep working on that relationship and that inclusiveness based on the workshop that's going to be done on Thursday with the NRL.
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    All the captains will be there, that'll be a part of what are genuine partnership looks like.
    "It's going to provide a really good opportunity for players to be front and centre and ask any questions or seek clarity on anything that may impact on them or the playing group."
    It comes as Newton declared that, despite North Queensland star Johnathan Thurston's public cry for CBA negotiations to be fast-tracked, the union would not be rushed into a new deal.
    The major issue remains the revenue share, however Newton said a number of the game's most pressing concerns needed to be addressed properly.
    "Transition funds, insurance, commercial and contracting models, representation and engagement... the list goes on and on," Newton said.

    "It's one of those things - how long's a piece of string? You're just not sure how long it's going to go on for. But we have a great understanding, high level of empathy for people involved in it.
    "Our job is to make sure we get the best possible deal. The last CBA, the heads of agreement was only agreed upon really late in the piece. It ran into November or December.
    "At the same time, we brought these negotiations forward because we envisaged that it'd be a long process. The NRL and RLPA didn't have to start negotiating until November 1.
    "But we all saw that the necessity, along with us, to start discussions earlier in the piece."
    ©AAP2017

    Read more at http://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/02/23/...-think-tank-at-nrl-launch#teCr96FKfOkvLqSP.99
 
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