Smith calls for deadline return

Having been forced to coach out 2006 at Parramatta before he was replaced by Michael Hagan, Smith said the situation in which Neil Henry and Wayne Bennett had already signed for rival clubs for next season was bad for the game.

"I hate it. I think it`s a ludicrous free market system that we have," Smith said.

"Having an agreement with the players` association and all that would be the ideal way to go.

"Other sports seem to be able to come to an agreement with the players about what`s good for the game."

Smith is convinced players would accept being banned from changing clubs until the end of the season if they were offered something in return.

"If it would help grow our game, maybe the players would get more money," he said.

"If the league went to them and offered them an increase in the salary cap if they get certain employment conditions ... maybe that could happen, but I would suggest that`s highly unlikely. We`ll just go ahead with slather and whack and hope for the best."

Smith had no doubt the abolition of the June 30 transfer window was behind the early demises of coaches Nathan Brown and Graham Murray.

"While we`ve got an open-slather system where we`ve already got players who have agreed to play for clubs for next year, there will always be pressure on clubs to have their coach in place," the veteran said.

Only the game`s biggest stars benefit from the system, Smith reckoned.

"There`s a lot at the bottom of the scale who need to prove what they can do before they get an upgrade or a new contract," he said.

"Sadly, the money is already gone before that because clubs are panicked into making decisions way earlier, because if you`re going to get someone you fancy, you`ve got to get in early.

"A lot of guys never get to see if the work they`ve put in during the pre-season has been worth it or not because the club has already promised away the money."