That 5 teams do not provide adequate opportunities. Why do we lose kids out of the pathways to league? Because there are greater opportunities to go professional, why do we lose young players to Japan? Same reason
it’s not simply opportunity though. That’s certainly a factor but there’s other variables that means Rugby is missing the cream of the crop for young talent that expanding ‘opportunities’ won’t solve.
It’s the pay, it’s professionalism of the organisations on offer, its facilities/pathways
/programs and opportunity that is been offered, and it’s also the allure of playing in a competition(NRL) that offers 50x more exposure for young players.
The top tier 18 year olds players are getting >$300k contracts to sign with NRL clubs. In Rugby that’s money reserved for top tier Super Rugby players. Jack Howarth was considered best rugby schoolboy in QLD in 2020, he was signed by Storm as a teenager and is on a $500k per annum contract out to 2027, he has only played 1 NRL game.