Players’ Pulse reveals top clubs ranked in new RLPA club grading initiative

For the first time, the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) has made its annual player survey results public through the newly introduced Players’ Pulse, including a new ranking system for NRL and NRLW clubs based on player feedback.

Key highlights of the 2024 edition of the Players’ Pulse:

• Concussion focus in health & safety
• Men’s industry averages for club ranking and the best club
• Women’s industry averages for club ranking and the best club
• Impactful observations for the men’s game, including reasons for changing clubs
• Impactful observations for the women’s game, including protected hours.

Over 700 NRL and NRLW players completed the RLPA’s annual member survey in 2024, which included over 100 questions on a range of topics from workplace environments and club staffing to agents and targeted abuse.

The 2024 survey represents the RLPA’s largest data set to date and marks the first time results have been shared publicly.

Headlined in the Players’ Pulse is a new grading system implemented by the RLPA which ranks clubs in the NRL from 1 to 17 and clubs in the NRLW from 1 to 10. This ranking is based on aggregated answers on 16 club-specific questions.

In the 2024 Players’ Pulse the RLPA has only published the top-ranking club in the NRL and NRLW competitions, which are the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Parramatta Eels respectively.

The 16 areas that make up the club-specific questions are also categorised into five key groups: high performance staffing, services & support, environment, facilities and load.

The clubs that ranked highest in the five categories for each competition are also listed in the 2024 Players’ Pulse.

Those clubs were the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Rabbitohs, and Penrith Panthers in the men’s competition, and the Eels, Gold Coast Titans, and Newcastle Knights in the women’s competition.

“Today is a landmark moment for the RLPA as we make the results of our annual member survey public for the very first time,” said Clint Newton, CEO of the RLPA.

“For many years now, we have privately used our member survey results to inform the RLPA’s advocacy positions for our members, and by doing that we have developed a great level of trust from our members.

Lina Caccamo, the RLPA General Manager of Strategy and Innovation, says the club ranking system is just in its first phases of introduction to the elite rugby league industry.

“The purpose of ranking clubs is not to criticise but to collaborate and identify areas for improvement and promote the leading clubs in our industry,” said Lina Caccamo.

“In the long term, the Players’ Pulse aims to make all rankings public. For now, the RLPA will collaborate privately with individual clubs to address their specific results.”

“Players deserve the best employment conditions across the board and the Players’ Pulse will be crucial to achieving that and creating minimum standards.

The 2024 Players’ Pulse highlights four critical areas: Health & Safety (concussion protocols), Workplace standards (club rankings), and Impactful Observations such as relocation, agent performance, protected hours, and addressing racism & abuse.

Click here to read the 2024 Players’ Pulse.

ABOUT THE PLAYERS’ PULSE:

The RLPA’s Players’ Pulse is a snapshot of data taken from the players’ association’s annual member survey of NRL and NRLW players.

Made public for the first time, the Players’ Pulse represents the collective voice of elite rugby league players and serves as a crucial tool for understanding the evolving needs of our members.

The survey is completed anonymously by our members. The players’ association reserves the right to keep sensitive information confidential to protect the interests of our members and maintain integrity in the RLPA’s advocacy efforts.

The RLPA views the Players’ Pulse as crucial new initiative in our mission to empower players and advocate for a fair and thriving elite rugby league environment. As the Players’ Pulse evolves, the RLPA plans to expand its scope, ensuring that the voices of our members remain at the forefront of industry decision making.