The game needs to evolve outside of Sydney and Queensland. You simply can't operate a sport efficiently if it has 10 teams clustered in one state. 4 of the NSW teams should be merged into 2. A Sharks/Dragons and a Tigers/Panthers merger has been touted for a while. Once you've reduced the NSW teams you look to introduce a new Perth team. The new Optus stadium up there would be their base. Yes the expansion failed in 1995 but the population in Perth has more than doubled since then and you just need to spend a week there to know how much they love the AFL and even the soccer over there, so whats stopping them taking in an NRL team?
That would leave you with 16 teams, with the inclusion of the Dolphins and Perth, and merging four NSW sides into 2.
There needs to be a focus in getting more kids from Melbourne to play the game. It's insane to me that there is only a handful of victorians playing in the game considering it is Australia's second largest population. I understand it's difficult due to the stronghold the AFL has within the state, but the NRL only needs a portion of the market share and that would allow the game to grow roots in the region. In reality there should be 2 teams at the minimum from Victoria, there should be a second team in Geelong area, but for the moment the game just needs to focus on grass roots and hopefully in a decade they have the capacity to add another team there.
A draft would be a minimum 5 years away but it would help in garnering more interest than the league has ever seen. The NBA and NFL benefit most by having a draft process which;
1. Provides so much content that off-seasons are just as good as the regular season
2. Allows the game to create storylines behind players and so fans become invested in their journey
3. Brings a lot of hope to struggling teams
Imagine having the Nines comp soon after the draft and fans get to see their new young stars playing in tournament that gives them so much room to shine. It would keep the off-season so interesting. The draft also brings in revenue, you'll be able to increase your broadcasting deal because there'll be demand for shows discussing the rookies, and highlighting the best fits for each team etc. You would go full American in that sense.
The NRL needs to strongarm the RLPA in terms of a draft. With adjustments and improvements like the draft, the league could 2-3x its revenue within a decade, and that would see salary caps almost doubled, equalling more money directed to the players. What are all these players going to do? go off and form their own competition?, most of them struggle with the basics of the game as it is. The NRL literally operates out of 3 states at the moment, its never been simpler to have a draft.
Drafts could work 1-16, for three rounds. The money would be tiered and so the 1st pick would get more than the second and so forth. First pick might be on 500k, second on 475k etc. It would be feasible within the cap if you allow teams to surpass the cap by up to 5% to register their draft picks but they would have a two year window to get back under the cap or they risk losing competition points.
To do all this, the league obviously needs a lot of capital, and would need major backers to take the game to the next level. And that would be up to the people who are paid the big bucks to find and negotiate. It would probably take American or Chinese investment, but the potential for an attractive ROI is there if completed right.